30 Kisses ScoreHelaine
by Ayaia of the Moon
Summary: 30 Kisses challenge for LJ. 30 little kisses for Score and Helaine. Because Diadem needs more fans! 19: Prelude to Calamity: Part Three. Arc continues. Helaine getting better, sort of. Score getting worse, sort of. (This chapter rated M/R for Language/abuse) Review!
1. In Comparison

**Title**: In Comparison…  
**Author**: Ayaia of the Moon  
**Pairing**: Score/Helaine  
**Fandom**: Diadem: Worlds of Magic  
**Theme**: # 15: Perfect blue  
**Rating**: K  
**Disclaimer**: I own Diadem! Really! Am I lying? Yes! But I wish I weren't…

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In Comparison…

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"Well, I'm not against the whole 'R and R' but why are we out here again?"

Helaine Votrin rolled her eyes, pulling Matthew Caruso (he preferred 'Score') in her wake as they climbed to the crest of one of the many rolling hills that surrounded the castle that was her home. They had just cunningly put a stop to the warring border lords, and they only awaited word from her father before heading home to Dondar.

Once they reached the peak of the hill (It wasn't a peak really, just a glorified plateau of sorts) Helaine finally stopped, satisfied as she beheld the majesty before her; Her father's estate blended gradually into the small town beyond the walls, and the houses of the lesser border lords slowly became the huts of the shopkeepers, and the hovels of the peasants. She turned to Score, expecting a look of awe on his face at the spectacular view, and was surprised when she found his gaze, instead, turned upward, towards the sky.

"Score, the view is that way," Helaine said firmly, gesturing at the reason she'd brought him up here in the first place.

"Nice sky you got here."

"What?"

"If you think about it, Dondar's sky is always some weird color. Pink, or Red. Purple too."

"I suppose that's true, but –"

" – and New York? Fahgeddabouddit. Sky? What sky? We got Smog."

"What is 'smog?'"

"But here? You got this whole… I dunno. It's blue, anyway."

Helaine turned her gaze momentarily to follow his, confused. It was just the sky. It was a nice day, she supposed. Clouds puffed against a canvas of truest blue. She looked back at Score and laughed lightly to herself; he'd sprawled flat on his back, so as to better see the sky. She shrugged, joining him.

"I mean, _look_ at it," Score continued from his place in the grass, gesturing above him.

"It's the sky, Score," Helaine said simply.

"It's not just the sky."

"What is it then?" Helaine huffed, annoyed. Honestly. If he wasn't going to make sense they could just go home, where he wasn't _supposed_ to make sense.

"It's a majesty of perfect blue," Score said decidedly, putting his hands behind his head and grinning.

"Otherwise known as the sky," Helaine said stubbornly.

Score glanced over at her. His gaze was serious. "You don't get it. In New York, no once cares about all the crap they're putting into the air. You can't even see the stars at night. On Dondar, the atmosphere makes the plants and stuff all weird and Technicolor. But here you have this amazing, perfect sky, and you don't see it." He turned back to look intently at said sky, and Helaine started to understand.

Even on Pixel's world, (so he'd said) where there weren't any towers obscuring the view, the sky was still hazy from the heat of their many, many computers. By comparison, the sky on Ordin was much nicer. She peeked at Score, her stare softer than it had been, but his moment had passed, and he had a look on his face that better suited a shark.

"By the by, Miss Votrin. Just how many boys do you bring up here anyway?"

Helaine shoved him, blushing at the insinuation. Score, however, leaned quickly forward, planting a quick peck on her lips, grinning at the look of utter confusion on her face before getting up and trotting back down the hill.

"It's okay if you're a shameless hussy, Helaine!" he called back merrily, obviously feeling daring because he had a head start on her and her sword. "It doesn't change my feelings for you! I still think you're a bullheaded, controlling Nazi, but now you're a shameless, bullheaded, controlling Nazi hussy!"

Her next comment was brutalized by obscene language as she chased him down, vowing to hand his head to him.

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A U T H O R S N O T E

Soooooo yeah. I've decided to enter this contest: It's cool. This is one of 30 little fics I'm going to do because, let's face it, Diadem needs more fans. :)

Read, review, at your leisure, of course, and a happy authoress shall I be!


	2. Of Tradition, Metaphors, and Gummiworms

**Title**: Of Tradition, Metaphors, and Gummi-worms  
**Author**: Ayaia of the Moon  
**Pairing**: Score/Helaine  
**Fandom**: Diadem: Worlds of Magic  
**Theme**: #23: Candy  
**Rating**: K+  
**Disclaimer**: I own Diadem! Really! Am I lying? Yes! But I wish I weren't…

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Of Tradition, Metaphors, and Gummi-worms.

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_Kissing is much like trying an exotic food for the first time. You have no idea how something so disgustingly slimy can be so pleasant, but it just is — Damn that Score!_

Helaine Votrin was really _trying_ to watch her sister's wedding vows. It wasn't her fault that the idiosyncrasies that were Score's made-up sayings (he claimed they were 'homely truths' on Earth, which she was skeptical about) kept popping into her head. She couldn't remember the occasion for which he'd used said phrase, but she was certain it hadn't been appropriate at the time.

Score, though, had never been one for propriety. Why, just now, at dinner, he'd transformed the Guinea fowl into something…else. It looked like the 'cheeseburgers' of Earth that he always went on about, but it was somehow different…Her father had been most displeased of course, saying he'd caught that guinea fowl himself…

She grinned, then, in a lopsided sort of way, reminiscent of the very boy she was thinking about. She _did_ remember when he'd said that odd phrase. It had been on one of his trips to Earth, insisting upon stocking up on "real food" instead of the perfectly respectable things she herself tracked and took down with her bow.

Upon reaching one of the local markets which Score had called a 'gas station' (it was a place where the 'cabs' came to 'get fuel' though she hardly understood why a machine needed sustenance like a mule or a donkey.) He came out sporting a 'five-fingered discount' (He explained later that he'd stolen it, much to the dismay of Pixel and especially Helaine, who made him go back and leave payment for the workers) on one of his 'cuisines' from Earth, called 'Gummi-worms.'

They were 'disgustingly slimy' indeed, and Helaine had demanded to know whether or not the brightly colored things were really worms, and what sort of nutritional value they held, until Score had poked one in her mouth. Helaine had objected until Score encouraged her to eat it, and she had then decided that it was indeed a glorious food, worthy of the title 'cuisine.'

She had eaten the most out of the little bag, and then had spent the better half of the next five minutes kissing Score, (who didn't object, as he liked gummi-worms as much as the next person) searching for traces of the wonderful gummi-worm taste in his mouth.

While Jenna and Pixel fawned over the 'pizza' Jenna had never quite gotten over on her first trip to Earth, Score had educated Helaine in the fine foods that were Earth's candies, far superior to her own world's equivalent thereof. Helaine had demanded bags of the Gummi worms as well as several others, some fruity, like the worms, and some sweeter 'chocolates' that Helaine had had initial misconceptions of, and others still that were veritable symphonies of mysterious tastes on her tongue. (Score called them 'marshmallows').

She had decided that she enjoyed these candies and was quite keen, even now, to go to Earth and get more, though she'd never say anything of the sort to Score.

"What are they doing?" Score muttered into her ear then, talking out of the corner of his mouth. Score, after all, was in the place of honor at the head of the hall, being the king of sorts, and he had no idea what was going on, save the vaguest notion that it seemed like an important ceremony. He didn't believe it was really a wedding.

"Vows," Helaine muttered back, from her place on his left.

"Why are they speaking in pig-latin?"

"Score, you know very well that pigs don't speak," she said in confusion, but Score just waved a hand at her.

"Tomato Tomahto."

"What?"

"Never mind."

"Stand up."

"What?"

Helaine stepped on his foot as the congregation turned to him, and he stood up in a hurry.

"Um, you may kiss the bride?" Helaine subtly shook her head, and Score quickly corrected himself. "Or, uh, do whatever it is you folks do in this sort of occasion."

Lord Votrin smiled, and then took out a bejeweled dagger, throwing it into the ground for all he was worth.

The gathered group cheered then, and Helaine grinned, throwing her own dagger into the ground, then turning to Score and kissing him lightly.

"What is up with your culture?"

"Hmm?"

"Speaking a different language for a wedding ceremony I get. But throwing daggers into the ground?"

"Don't you have anything similar in weddings on Earth?"

"Well, kind of. I think in Jewish weddings they break a cup or something."

"Why?"

"I dunno."

"Take a guess then."

"It makes sense to them to do it so they do?" Score was smiling; teasing her.

"I think it's tradition," Helaine answered in mock firmness.

"And kissing the long lost heir of Ordin?" He was definitely teasing now. Probably in want of a fist in his face…or a kiss. Depending on the mood he kept her in.

"Oh, that was just me improvising," Helaine said, deciding to tease him back.

"I could see that."

Helaine's eyebrows suddenly furrowed. "What did you change your dinner into?" she asked, remembering her father's insistence that Helaine's friends not use _witchcraft_ in his home.

"Something that wasn't guinea fowl."

"Something involving pepperoni?"

"Oh, no, that's reserved for pizza only."

Helaine smirked. "I _tasted_ pepperoni," she insisted, challenging him.

"Damn. I've been ratted out." Score smiled, his arms resting comfortably around Helaine's waist.

"Pepperoni is for pizza _and_ guinea fowl, then?"

"You have a problem with that?"

"No, I had just hoped you might have gone for something…fruitier."

"Like gummi-worms?"

"…"

Score grinned at Helaine, whose silence had told him all he needed to know. "Unfortunately, Ms. Votrin, I cannot seem to peg gummi-worms in my vast menu of food-changing, because I simply don't know what they are. And if I don't know what they are, how can I change something else into a gummi-worm?"

"Is there anything we can do?"

"You just want my lips for your own selfish gummi purposes, is that it?"

"Exactly."

Score just smiled, and pulled Helaine closer. She closed her eyes, expecting another kiss…

"And I'm good with that," he muttered, pressing something to her mouth…she opened her eyes in shock – it was a gummi-worm! He'd been holding out on her!

Score pulled a small bag of gummi-worms from inside his borrowed tunic, grinning at the smile that had appeared on Helaine's face. "Kissing is like eating gummi-worms," he said, holding another one out to her. "You don't know how something so odd can end up making you smile…but it does."

"Another of your 'homely truths' no doubt," Helaine said doubtfully, taking the proffered candy nonetheless and poking it into her own mouth.

"Naw, I just made that one up."

Helaine just extracted another worm from the bag. She held it in front of Score's lips tauntingly. "But that's not right," she argued, poking the worm in his mouth as he looked at her in confusion.

She smiled. "That's the only phrase that's been truthful out of the nonsense you always spout."

Score returned the smile. "You just want my lips for your own gummi purposes," he said again. "But I like gummi-worms. So we're good."

Helaine just rolled her eyes and pulled his face toward hers, relishing once again in the sweetness that was his kiss.

And she didn't think it had anything to do with the gummi-worms.

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No idea where it came from, really…Needless to say I was eating Gummi worms at the time, and the saying came to me. I think my sister said it to me first; she has this little book full of quotes and such that she adds to and reads aloud from every once in a while…

And may I say…Holy Freaking Fluff!! I didn't know I had it in me…

Oh, and the thing about the Jewish weddings? Totally true. The last part of a Jewish Marriage Cerimony is the bride and groom drinking wine, and then the groom steps on the wine glass to break it. The link is thus: http : / / en . wikipedia . org / wiki / Jewish views of marriage but without the spaces.

I've never witnessed a Jewish wedding. I'd very much like to. I've attended a Catholic wedding service for my cousin, and I can't count how many receptions for Christian and LDS weddings, but never a Jewish wedding.

Ayaia


	3. Going Nuts

**Title**: Going Nuts  
**Author**: Ayaia of the Moon  
**Pairing**: Score/Helaine  
**Fandom**: Diadem: Worlds of Magic  
**Theme**: #14 – radio-cassette player  
**Rating**: T  
**Disclaimer**: I own Diadem! Really! Am I lying? Yes! But I wish I weren't…

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Going Nuts

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Matt Caruso (he preferred being called Score) decided things around Dondar needed a push in a more cheerful direction. _Let's face it_, he thought, _we have all these adventures and they're taking a toll on us_. So far they had battled many things. Unicorns, that Ice dragon, the Goblins (okay, Score admitted, that had been kind of fun); Hell they'd even battled the Triad, who were, in all actuality, their own potential selves. And then, when Score had thought they were in for a nice break, after they'd settled the business with the Unicorns, he had to go and start dying. Stupid Destiny. That one was her fault.

After they'd gotten back from Zarathan (and _slept_ for a while) Score had begun to hatch a plan. (heh. Hatch. Zarathan. He'd made a punny!) After his visit to his home world, Score had started thinking about little improvements that could be made to the castle of the late Garonath. Electricity, for one, could come in handy, and even Helaine couldn't turn her nose up at it…could she?

Score decided to introduce the plan slowly. He had to do some work, trying to contact Shanara without the ease of Helaine's Agate to move things along, but through a series of playing 'telephone' with Oracle, Score managed a modest portal to Rawn, and a few hours later, with Shanara's help, he'd returned to Dondar, sporting a few Earthly luxuries. A little battery-operated radio, for one, the ingredients for S'mores, since they were so good at making fires, and, of course, a Game Boy for Pixel.

He decided to ease his companions into the idea. He knew Pixel would be a shoo-in for his electricity idea, and then it would only be a matter of time before he was introducing other things. Maybe they could start celebrating holidays? Making a calendar of sorts to live by?

Grinning, content that his plan was a good one, Score started thinking about what he could make for dinner. It was his turn anyway, and he could always make something that the other two at least found edible. He knew his S'mores would be a hit (he hoped they would, anyway, since he didn't know how Helaine felt about chocolate…or marshmallows…or, well, the Graham crackers, for that matter.) but they couldn't have them for dinner.

He decided to try his hand at a Waldorf salad. Well, Dondar's equivalent thereof. He wasn't using apples, per say, they were more like a kind of berry than anything, but he could change that, easily. But he had no idea of what to use for mayonnaise or walnuts. And what was a proper Waldorf salad without mayonnaise or walnuts?

Deciding to get to that later, Score switched the radio on, frowning at the lack of reception. _Well_, he had to reason with himself, _it's not like there are any radio stations to pick up on Dondar, now are there?_ How could he have thought otherwise?

Shrugging, he switched to the 'tape' function, glad that he'd had the sense to have gotten one. It seemed to be an eighties mix of sorts. He set to changing the mysterious Dondarian fruits into apples, deciding to change some of the smaller ones into raisins, which, he reasoned, were a suitable substitute in case he didn't find walnuts.

…_I think we're alone now. _

_There doesn't seem to be anyone around!_

_I think we're alone now!_

_The beating of our hearts is the only sound!_

Score grinned. _Tiffany_, he remembered. _She was huge in the eighties_. He continued the tedious job of changing the fruit into the ingredients for his Waldorf salad, making sure he didn't use so much magic that he'd be unable to get through the dinner he'd worked so hard on making.

…_and so we're running just as fast as we can!_

_Holding on to one another's hands!_

_Trying to get away, into the night!_

_And then you put your arms_ –

CRASH!

Score jumped, turning around to see Helaine, looking crazed, hacking at his radio, trying to kill the music that continued to feebly sputter from the speakers.

"Helaine, what are you doing!" Score exclaimed, rushing forward, stopping her from her assault. He knew that it was too late, however. Unless Pixel could fix it. Which Score doubted.

"Let me destroy it! It makes demonic sounds that have no doubt befuddled your brain!" Helaine exclaimed, trying to push Score out of the way.

"It's not befuddling my brain! It's just technology, Helaine! Music!"

"_That_ is not music!" Helaine screeched, raising her sword in such fury that Score had the sense to not get in her way or else he'd be sliced in half.

With Helaine's devastating blow, the radio had finally had enough, the gears grinding to a halt and the music of Tiffany stopping along with them. It was dead.

Score frowned, picking at the pieces. Helaine just looked on the destruction proudly, sheathing her weapon and crouching to Score's level, where he was hunched over the remains of his previously mint-condition battery-operated stereo, huffing in annoyance.

"Helaine, this was brand-new! Why'd you have to go all nuts on it?"

"I have not gone anywhere, and what do nuts have to do with anything?"

"I brought this radio from Earth. It was playing music."

"That horrible sound? That was not music. And besides; how could one fit a musical instrument inside such a small metallic box? Clearly it was witchery, meant to drive the listener insane."

"Helaine, did you ever stop to think that Earth music was different than Ordin music?"

Helaine looked outraged, as an angry flush kissed her cheeks briefly. Just as she opened her mouth for what Score knew was going to be a well-worded insult, he sighed. It was no use trying fight about it with her. She just didn't understand.

"You know what? It's fine. Never mind. Did you by chance know where I could get some walnuts? I'm making an Earth dish called 'Waldorf salad.'"

Helaine grinned, anger forgotten as realization dawned on her face. "Was that what you meant before? Is this 'going nuts' a strange Earth-slang way of asking me to help you with dinner?"

Score just chuckled, shaking his head. "I guess so, in this case."

Helaine looked delighted at having solved some of Score's words on her own, even if it wasn't entirely correct. "I will be most pleased to 'go nuts,' as the Earth-beings say. I think I saw some plants by the Unicorn pasture that might be worth looking at."

Score nodded, glancing forlornly at the scrap-metal that was the remains of his radio. Maybe he'd try and introduce electricity another day. For now, it seemed he was going nuts with Helaine. Hey. At least he was in good company.

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A U T H O R S N O T E

_Tiffany_ and her song _I Think We're Alone Now_ do not belong to me. I like to use random 80s songs sometimes. I used _Bicycle Race_ from _Queen_ in a chapter of my X-men story, Unstable Origins.

:)

It's fun. You should try it sometime. (I know everyone secretly likes 80s music. Admit it.)

Ayaia


	4. Lost in Translation: The Next Generation

**Title**: Lost in Translation: The Next Generation  
**Author**: Ayaia of the Moon  
**Pairing**: Score/Helaine  
**Fandom**: Diadem: Worlds of Magic  
**Theme**: #22 – Cradle  
**Rating**: K  
**Disclaimer**: I own Diadem! Really! Am I lying? Yes! But I wish I weren't…

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Lost in Translation: The Next Generation

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Sneaking through a castle was, to some, an easy task. But those people didn't believe in magic. He was only eight years old, yes, but he had…not a fear, but a _healthy respect_ for magic, and what it could do. More specifically, what he'd seen it do to his dad. He paused in his creeping to shudder. When his mom was in a mood…things could get scary; thus his stealth.

He peered carefully around the corner, making sure there was no one to witness his covertness through the corridor. Luck was on his side. They were probably fussing over the baby. He rolled his eyes. Honestly. It was just a baby. He'd been a baby once, and so had his best friend, Dahltia. She'd even been a _girl_ baby, and that was even worse than a _normal_ baby, but she'd punch him for saying so.

"Renald?"

He jumped at the sound of his name, turning quickly around, and sighing in relief. Dahltia had appeared behind him soundlessly; it was an annoying habit she had. "You scared me!" Renald snapped at her, looking around to make sure no one had followed her.

"Sorry!" Dahltia exclaimed, looking apologetic. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

"I was gonna get some of those cookies your mom made," Renald admitted, peeking around the corner again to determine whether or not Dahlita had been followed.

"But –"

Renald held up a hand, silencing her. They had reached their destination; the kitchen. He grinned. He could practically taste the cookies now. All warm and gooey…

"Renald! _Renald_!" Dahltia hissed insistently.

"_What_?"

Dahltia just grabbed his pale hand in her own blue one and pulled him backwards. An instant later, Renald felt a surge of warning fill his mind. The door to the kitchen burst open, banging horribly against the wall where the two had just been standing. Luckily, the angry occupant of the kitchen was going the other way; muttering curses and tracking mud all over the floor. Renald gulped. It was his mother.

He glanced quickly at his companion, deducing that Dahltia had likely been listening to the goings on in the kitchen, and had known when the door would open. And he himself had always had a sort of…sense about danger, and when something bad was going to happen. It still seemed miraculous, though, that they'd avoided this disaster; all without his mom even seeing them!

Renald grinned. Perhaps his luck would continue to hold out…

A disheveled head poked through the door. "I love you too, sweetheart," called a merry voice. Renald held his breath. It was his dad.

As if sensing his son nearby, the man turned, eyes zeroing in on the two youths partially hidden behind the door. To Renald's surprise, his dad's face, instead of adopting the stern expression his mother used, split into a wide grin. "What are you two? Crazy? She might come back!" He beckoned them into the safety of the kitchen, shutting the door quietly behind them.

"Dad…" Renald said cautiously. "Why…why is Mom so mad at you all the time?"

"She's in a mood," Renald's dad explained, shooting a glance up the passageway in paranoia.

"All the time?"

Renald's father grinned unexpectedly. "Yeah. Pretty much."

"Uncle Score…what are you doing in here?" asked Dahltia meekly, glancing around the kitchen. Her eyes alighted on a bag of flour, and she grinned. "Were you hiding my mom's cookies?"

Renald's dad – Score – laughed sheepishly. "I, uh, actually ate your mom's cookies."

Dahltia frowned. "You were supposed to save some for later."

"I figured I'd make more…" Score said. And with that, three cookies appeared in his hand, one of which he offered to the still pouting Dahltia.

"You made those out of mud!" Renald accused, pointing to the large quantities of mud that streaked the kitchen floor.

"I dunno what you kids are talking about. Mud. Honestly."

The mud abruptly disappeared, turning, instead, into harmless dirt that blended in with the dusty floor.

Renald grinned, taking a proffered cookie for himself as Score looked at his own cookie thoughtfully. "Dad…they're _not_ made out of mud, right?" Renald asked meekly.

Score laughed appreciatively. "No. I made them the old fashioned way; carbon, flour particles and air."

Dahltia pulled a face. "It tastes like your mom's spongecake."

Renald choked on his own cookie. Dahltia's words…however cruel…were completely true! Score looked crestfallen.

"Chocolate's hard, okay?" he muttered, taking the cookies back and biting into one thoughtfully. "But you're right. These taste like cardboard."

"What's cardboard?"

Score waved a hand airily, at the same time using his magic to make the cookies disappear…or, more accurately, change them back into their original form of carbon, flour particles and air. "Lost in translation. Again. Irony, I say. All of my best puns are still wasted with my own creation… How about we make more cookies?"

Dahltia frowned as Renald cheered. "The _real_ way?" she asked hesitantly. Score nodded in the affirmative, and then Dahltia cheered too.

"After all," Score continued, pulling out a bowl to mix ingredients in as Dahltia charged for the recipe book, "It's never too early to condition children to love cookies."

Renald's eyes widened. "But Betta's just a baby!"

"Beta," Dahltia corrected him automatically.

Score rolled his eyes. "How do you think you two came to love cookies so much? I'd sneak the snickerdoodles in crumbles into your baby food."

Dahltia giggled, and Renald nodded in sudden understanding. Then, in a grin that so resembled his father's, he reached into the flour container and dashed a handful at Dahltia.

Dahltia could only blink in astonishment as the flour settled in her hair and made even her flaming red locks look dull; like she'd aged 30 years. As the miniscule particles drifted through the air, kissing the countertops, Dahltia's face shifted into an evil grin. This was war.

Later, as Renald, Dahltia, AND Score were sitting sullenly in what had been dubbed the 'time-out' room of the large castle, Renald frowned. He never had gotten that cookie.

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A U T H O R S N O T E

.

The block is over! I had to move past this enormous chunk of my brain that couldn't think of ANYTHING creative. But the cogs are back in action now, and I'm on a roll once more! Yay for me!!

Man…has it really been so long since updating this story? Dude…

More to come! Watch for more stories, 'cause I'm a writing _fiend_ right now…

Ayaia


	5. Forsaken Tradition, among Other Things

**Title**: Forsaken Tradition, among Other Things  
**Author**: Ayaia of the Moon  
**Pairing**: Score/Helaine  
**Fandom**: Diadem: Worlds of Magic  
**Theme**: #11 – Gardenia  
**Rating**: T  
**Disclaimer**: I own Diadem! Really! Am I lying? Yes! But I wish I weren't…

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Forsaken Tradition, among Other Things

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She had never been one for tradition. When presented with ornamental hair pins and dresses fit for the princess she was, she'd shunned them for soft, leather breeches and a worn cap fit for the scruffy nobody 'Renald' whom she invented. Mind-numbing needlework and spirit-crushing dancing lessons were traded for a nice sword and a quiver full of arrows.

The Gardenias she'd begun to receive from one Dathan Peverel were shredded and burned in her fireplace. Her father's adamant orders for her impending marriage to that half-wit weren't followed – instead her father got a missing, rebellious, witch of a daughter who ultimately saved his lands a year later, forcing him into a style of living that the people of that world weren't supposed to be living by for several hundred more years.

Helaine wondered, then, why she was being so foolish. She had laughed with Score at the fool Pixel was making of himself over that peasant wench – sorry, _Jenna_ – and they had both sworn to never act like that if they could help it. For all her rebellion and denial, Helaine had finally turned into something she'd always fought – a girl.

She could have lived with anything else. Perhaps she could have been a good cook. Or been good at sewing and mending things. These were at least practical aspects of the girlish things that she had shunned in her youth. Why couldn't she have been good at braiding her hair? Or endlessly combing it until it shone, like her twit sisters? Why did she have to be so good at not despising Score?

At thirteen, she found herself thinking about him all the time, much like her older sister Adelaide would go on endlessly about her now brother-in-law, Tyrus. Or she would wonder if the things wore or spoke about would please him. She would wonder what it would be like to kiss him.

This is when she knew she was turning into a girl. It was something she'd always fought, and it seemed that even her invention of Renald couldn't save her from the ugly truth – that she really was a girl, and that she still did feminine things, even though she had tried to beat these urges out of herself since the age of five. She'd seen what being _women_ had done to her sisters – all twelve of them – not to mention her numerous sisters-in-law who had been brave enough to marry her brothers.

At fourteen, then, Helaine Votrin was finally fully accepting of the cold, hard fact. She was a girl. It wasn't like she could help it, right? And though she was able to put off Pixel's romancing when they were twelve, it seemed that she couldn't put off her own feelings for Score as easily. No matter how annoying he was, or how much she told herself that she despised him. She'd even kissed him a few times, albeit in embarrassment and fleeting, rushed moments when she was feeling particularly bold.

But she felt another surge of…of…well…it wasn't _shame_, per say, but it was close – when she felt more need than usual to kiss this Earth boy of whom she was so fond. What kind of warrior was she that she felt such foolish tendencies?

It was hard to remember to be a warrior when she was with him, though. Lately, they'd been difficult to find on their own – Helaine and Score were rarely separated – and it had given Helaine a chance to think over the odd aspects of their attachment.

While they both abhorred the idea of such public displays of affection as, say, Pixel and Jenna, they weren't shy about letting it be known that they were together. But where Pixel and Jenna would show this by kissing, Helaine and Score would shyly hold hands or smile privately to one another.

While many would consider the speed at which their relationship moved to be positively glacial, Helaine knew that both she _and_ Score were fine with the snail's pace, thankyouverymuch, and that they thought it was moving along at just the rate it was supposed to.

So it came as a shock when, one particular day, Helaine had wanted to kiss Score more than usual. She was surprised to learn that she'd be content kissing him ceaselessly, if their lungs could take it. She'd pulled away at that thought, blushing spectacularly at her bold thoughts and internally scolding herself for thinking so forwardly.

Score, though, had grinned at her, pulling her back into their kiss insistently, and she'd lost all thought, simply enjoying the slightly sordid thoughts that pounded in her head. When Score pulled away, she repeated his earlier actions; grinning cheekily and pulling him back to her lips in an instant – the wordless reprimand for pulling away was all to clear.

It soon became clear that one or both of them could possibly die from lack of air, and it was Score who broke the kiss again, resting his sweaty forehead on hers, breathing kind of heavily as the sun beat mercilessly onto their backs.

"Woah…" he joked breathlessly, pulling his head back to wipe his sticky hair away from his face. "Talk about 'sucking face.'"

"I don't understand," Helaine murmured, fanning her face with her hand, wishing she still had her cap to tuck her hair into.

"On my world, when you kiss for a long time like that they sometimes call it 'sucking face,' or 'making out.' Weird Earth jargon. Sorry."

"Why don't they just call it 'kissing?'" Helaine mused, looking up at the sky, wondering when they were going to have a cloud or two.

"Well, they do. But 'making out' is faster to say than 'kissing for an exceptionally long period of time.'" Score looked sympathetically at Helaine's attire. "Don't you ever get tired of wearing all of that armor all the time? You must be baking!"

"It was better when I had my cap," Helaine admitted. "It was much better without all of my hair down my back."

"You could at least ditch the chain mail. Or the gauntlets. Something. Aren't you afraid of getting heatstroke?"

Helaine stiffened, leaning casually away from Score, gathering her hair into bunches to braid. "I am perfectly fine," she said loftily, looking down at her hands, concentrating on the seemingly simple pattern that had always thwarted her in her youth.

Score seemed to sense the change in her mood. He leaned closer to her, closing the small gap between them and absently resting his hand on her shoulder. "What did I say?"

Helaine shrugged his hand off, trying to plait her hair as neatly as her eldest sister, Yvette, always had. She was hopeless at it, though, and would always get her hair tangled into knots.

"Helaine? I said something, didn't I? I'm sorry. I'm dumb. Is that all?"

Helaine shook free the braid she had started, deciding it wasn't tight enough, but her hair knotted and she frowned at it. It seemed that braiding was a skill one couldn't acquire through age, only through practice.

"Helaine, seriously. What did I do?"

"You spoke of disrespecting my wishes," Helaine said at last, tossing her tangled hair behind her shoulder to deal with later.

"What are you talking about?"

Helaine looked at him, frowning. "Perhaps it was all of our…our 'making out?' Did it addle your thoughts?"

Score grinned. "Well, I don't know, Helaine, your kisses do kind of knock the wind out of a guy."

Helaine found herself blushing, twisting her fingers absently in her palm. "You spoke so casually – you asked me to remove my armor – it's not something I am…I…I didn't want to–"

" –Nonononono you misunderstood me," Score interjected, reddening faster than Pixel when Score teased him. "I'm…uh…no. I'm not…ah…I don't want to do that particular…um…"

Helaine looked determinedly at her hands as Score fumbled through his words. She was still a furious shade of red, and the ruthless heat did nothing to sooth her burning cheeks.

"Not that, you know…_later_…I wouldn't…or that I don't _want_ to –"

Helaine looked up sharply.

"No! God! I do want to! But, you know…not…now…" Score trailed off lamely, burying his own burning face in his hands, swearing at himself.

Helaine tentatively leaned toward him, touching his shoulder. Score peeked out at her, looking sheepish.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled into his hands. "I didn't mean it like that."

"I…I know," Helaine said hesitantly, as Score slowly slid his hands though his hair, sighing loudly.

"I didn't get much people interaction, if you can't tell. I was the kid with the dead mother and the Mob Boss father who hit him. Not the conversation-starter of the century."

"It is all right. I…misunderstood."

"Because you _are_ sexy, Helaine."

"Is this a compliment?"

"Totally. You're a babe. And any guy would be lucky to be with you."

"But…I wouldn't be happy with 'any guy.' I'm certain you mean that _you're_ lucky to be with me?"

"Yeah. That."

"Good."

"And, you know, I do appreciate the whole thing we have going. The pace we're going."

"I do too."

"I don't care who says it's too slow, because I'm fine with it."

Helaine smiled. "There is one thing we could fix."

Score paled. "What?"

Helaine leaned in even closer to him, until their noses were touching. "We could perform more of this 'excessive kissing' that your world is so fond of."

Score grinned. "See? You don't even need your agate to read my mind," he muttered, relaxing into the kiss once more.

Helaine just wondered why they called it 'sucking face.'


	6. Prelude to Calamity: Part One

**Title**: Prelude to Calamity: Part One  
**Author**: Ayaia of the Moon  
**Pairing**: Score/Helaine  
**Fandom**: Diadem: Worlds of Magic  
**Theme**: #21. violence; pillage/plunder; extortion  
**Rating**: _Strong_ T  
**Disclaimer**: I own Diadem! Really! Am I lying? Yes! But I wish I weren't…

Strong PG-13/T warning! Contains scary stuff! You have been warned!

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Prelude to Calamity: Part One

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She felt horrible. Worse than she ever recalled feeling. Worse even, than that time Tyrus broke her leg. Or the time Dayfd boxed her ears until they were bleeding. She didn't sense any noise. That's what was ultimately unsettling about the whole thing. She didn't know where she was, she didn't know how badly she was injured…and she was alone.

It didn't stop the ache in her arm – a dull resonant throb that seemed to pulse in time with her heart. When she tried to gauge the level of pain; to move her fingers a little bit; she nearly passed out from the sheer intensity of it.

_Okay_…she decided, in a sort of hazy stupor of blood-loss and incoherence. _Moving is definitely bad_.

She let out a sharp sound that might have been laughter, only to wince. …_but laughing is worse_…she finished her thought, grinning slightly as she remembered Score.

This was how Score dealt with pain, right? Laughed it off?

She opened a bleary eye, taking in her colorful surroundings, and mostly, her mangled right arm.

She couldn't see how he did it. Score. There was really nothing funny about the situation.

She smiled nonetheless, and let herself drift uneasily to unconsciousness.

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_She'd been angry with Score before, innumerable times; this had been just another bout of their mindless bickering, and she couldn't even remember what the catalyst had been to ultimately separate them, but she felt she should cool off a little before facing him again at any rate. That's when she'd sought out Flame. _

_Single-minded in her new quest, she didn't notice she was being followed until she heard her pursuer speak from behind her, in a strange, low rasp of a voice._

"_The pretty lady is in want of companionship, my sweet. Yes, we shall accompany her. It would be only polite, after all. The pretty lady seems so lonely, with only her bones to speak to."_

_Helaine turned then, her sword already drawn, furious that she hadn't been alerted of the danger. But upon actually seeing the man, she faltered – she could suddenly understand why her magical warnings had not gone off, because this man had to be more than 60 years old. He was hunched and knobbled with age, bent almost double as he hunched a good five paces behind her, leering up at her through eerily inversed eyes – Where her eyes were white, his were black, and where hers housed brown irises and black pupils, his eyes seemed to have a thin boundary between the pupil and the iris (if there was a boundary at all); the color of this anomaly was a milky blue that made her wonder whether or not he was blind. _

_He blinked at her owlishly, and gave her what she only could assume was a grin, though he had few (very crooked and discolored) teeth and it was hard to tell. He leaned toward the small stick he held in his hand, whispering loudly to it. _

"_Yes, dearest, she is very pretty. The man who holds her heart is quite fortunate."_

_Helaine noted in slight alarm, that the stick was topped with what looked like a small skull. The man looked positively primitive. He wore some sort of tan fur as a sort of poncho to cover his torso, and the same to act as a loincloth of sorts – most curiously, he had a small belt around his waist, onto which were tied three pouches of different sizes. _

"_Who are you?" Helaine addressed him firmly, though the grip on her sword was admittedly lax. She was confident she could best him in hand-to-hand combat if it came to that, but he appeared to be a mere man, slightly addled in his thoughts, but ultimately harmless. _

_This thought turned out to be her undoing._

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It had shaken all of them. Jenna most of all. When they'd found Helaine…she had looked dead. Jenna had been the only one to step in; she'd immediately asked for some rags and water, muttering something about her wounds being superficial.

Except her arm.

All they knew…was that something had happened to Helaine. They didn't know where, when…or how. She had all of her jewels on her, and Shanara was the first person they called, to get a second opinion; they bullied Oracle back and forth like a telephone until Jenna deemed it safe to move her to Rawn.

With the amount of blood she'd lost, Pixel noted, wherever she'd been attacked wasn't where they'd found her. Score hadn't yet said a word.

Her _arm_.

She was going to pull through; Jenna insisted as much, pulling out her long-forgotten bag of herbs from her 'witch' days on Ordin. It was a waiting game now. Shanara was exhausted, and Blink had spent up his own unique magic long ago. Jenna said it was best if Helaine was just left alone to rest for a bit.

Score's first words since finding her were actually pretty insightful…for Score, anyway.

"We should…we should get her to a doctor."

"One of your healers? On Earth?" It was Jenna who came up with this question. Her face was streaked with blood that they were all certain didn't belong to her, and her tan skin seemed much paler than it usually was.

"Yeah."

"Could she…will she survive a trip to the rim worlds in her condition?"

This, of course, was Pixel. Always thinking ahead. Score wanted to throttle him.

"Do we have a choice, Pix? Her life…her life is her arm. Maybe they can save it."

All eyes in the room were unconsciously drawn to Helaine's unmoving right arm. It was fine…from the elbow up. But below that…it looked more like a Halloween prop than a real arm. Jenna's eyes caught at least three inches of bone from the forearm…that were unaccounted for. Gone. What the hell had happened that she was missing three inches of bone from her right arm?

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"_Do you guys know where Helaine went?"_

_Pixel shrugged; a gesture he'd picked up from Score after all the time they'd spent around each other. Jenna shook her head, looking back into her plate, tilting her head curiously at the dish Score had concocted for their dinner. She took a meager bite, chewing thoughtfully. "Wasn't she with you?"_

_Score colored, digging into his own share of food with unneeded vigor. "She sorta got mad at me."_

_Pixel grinned. "Whatever for?"_

"_Hell if I know," Score muttered, but his cheeks stayed firmly red, and Pixel exchanged a knowing glance with Jenna, who managed a small smile. _

"_Are you worried about her?" was Jenna's next comment. It seemed to catch Score off guard, anyway, and he mimicked Pixel's shrug, stuffing a large bite of whatever-it-was into his mouth so he wouldn't have to answer her. _

_Pixel finally looked slightly concerned. "Didn't she have her jewels with her?"_

_Score nodded, chewing frantically at the food he still had in his mouth from his overlarge bite. Chewier than he'd bargained for…_

_Pixel grinned again. "Then she's fine. Probably venting about you to Flame. I'm sure Thunder'll give you an earful about it tomorrow."_

_They'd all rue their words in the course of the next day._

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Helaine blinked uncertainly, taking in her futuristic and unknown surroundings, noting that she seemed to have little bits of metal that Pixel called 'why-ers' attached to her person, and very much aware that her chain-mail was gone. Being the logical person she was, she took all these bits of information very well; she started pulling at all the different metal things, intent on finding her weapons and hurting someone…

_Leaning over her, clamping a clawed hand fiercely over her mouth, forcing her to breathe in more of the powder in his smallest pouch. Disarming her is only too easy now, and he focuses on pulling off her leather arm-guards, smiling as he rips the right arm of her tunic at the shoulder. He whispers a different language to his eerie skull before plunging her own dagger through her forearm – _

She swallowed convulsively as everything came back to her. She wanted more than anything to have her chain-mail – she felt so exposed; she redoubled her efforts to free herself from the little tubes and 'why-ers' that still attached her to some sort of ceaselessly beeping metal box before some strangely clad people came in to stop her from doing so.

"Helaine, it's Jenna," came the ghost of a whisper into her ear.

She froze, allowing the strange people to re-attach all of their little devices as she listened hard.

"We can't use your Agate, so I came in here with my Obsidian," Jenna explained softly. "But the magic is so weak here that I can only stay completely invisible if I don't move."

Afraid to say anything until the strange people were gone, Helaine held her tongue until they'd secured their trinkets to their satisfaction. As soon as they'd left, Helaine chanced a whisper of her own; "Where are we?"

"We're on Earth. Score said the healers on his world could help your arm better than Shanara and I."

Helaine said nothing else, wishing only that she was asleep again. Maybe then it could all be a bad dream.

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"_Okay…now I'm starting to get worried," Pixel muttered, as Score looked up at the door for the fourth time in the last five minutes. "Would you quit it? You're making me paranoid."_

"_It's not right," Score insisted. "Something's off."_

"_So you_ are _worried about her," Jenna said decisively, a firm grin at home on her face, but Score didn't share her teasing air. For once. He looked positively ill. He stood suddenly._

"_I'm going out to look for her."_

"_We should probably wait until morning," Pixel said gently. "There are dangerous creatures here that only come out at night. It would be safer to just wait her out here. And Helaine can take care of herself."_

"_I agree." Jenna insisted. _

_Score didn't heed them. And rather than let him brave it alone, Pixel sighed in long-suffering, gathering his jewels and chasing after his friend, Jenna not far behind. _

_Score pulled out a deep green stone that glinted strangely in the moonlight. Pixel recognized it not as his Emerald, but his Jasper. The power of Sight. Pixel couldn't help the smile of approval that came to his lips. It was exactly what he himself would have suggested, and the fact that Score had done it without asking Pixel's opinion said a lot for the exponential growth of his character since meeting the Earthling two years ago. _

_Score, however, instead of being reassured by what he saw, paled considerably. "Pix," he said slowly, "Get your Ruby out. We have to find her _now_."_

_Alarmed at the tone of Score's voice, Pixel heeded his friend's command, extracting his ruby from the depths of the pouch he'd carried them in._

"_Why?" Jenna asked cautiously, as Pixel's Ruby glowed blood red, pointing them in a northward direction. "What's wrong, Score?"_

_Score just shook his head, setting a grilling pace for her to follow. "She's hurt," he said at last, and Jenna wordlessly double-checked that she had her Carnelian. It seemed they were going to need it._

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_+Score, is it the practice of your people to hold the people they are treating hostage_?+

Score came into the room, wanting to smile at the tone that Helaine still had, even with her Agate. It was the only way to avoid suspicion with the doctors and nurses, since the three had said they'd just found Helaine on the street. Helaine had to speak to her companions only with her Agate, because if the doctors suspected that Helaine already knew her 'rescuers' then they might start suspecting anything else; that it was really _them_ who'd attacked her and left her for dead, or perhaps that they were trying to hide something. (Which they really were, but that was hardly the point.)

Jenna had been sent to Rawn, back with Shanara, to rest. She'd covertly been helping the doctors heal Helaine, under the cover of her Obsidian, but using two stones at once drained her quickly, no matter how much magic Score and Pixel would lend to the cause. It had been well worth it, though, when, after sleeping fitfully the first few days, Helaine had woken up and immediately demanded that she be released from her captivity.

Pixel had been working with Score, using his Ruby in conjunction with Score's own Jasper to determine Helaine's improvement. Score could 'see' the status of Helaine's health, and Pixel could 'find' the source of any infection or pain and when Jenna wasn't resting, she'd help eradicate it, or else persuade the resident to fix it without arousing suspicion. They never would have thought to use their stones this way if Pixel hadn't been so adamant in thinking the situation through entirely. Score was glad that the boy was able to keep a level head about it.

_+If I must be here, I demand that you let me at least have my dagger_.+

Score rolled his eyes. +_Why? This place is well-protected. What could get in_?+

Helaine chose not to answer, instead, avoiding the question altogether. +_Can't we just go home? Closer to the heart of the Diadem? Jenna's magic will be stronger, and she wouldn't have to strain so much to finish healing _this.+ She waved her bandaged arm pointedly around, sighing loudly when Score merely shook his head in answer to her question.

Truth be told, he was worried about her. He wanted to make sure she was all right before taking her home; especially after it had been revealed by Jenna that Helaine couldn't even stand to be alone in the room. Her arm might be getting better, but Score wasn't worried particularly about the grafted bone taking to her skeletal system – that's what they had Jenna for – no, he was worried about what was going on inside her head.

_+Perhaps if you let Jenna persuade these healers, then they'd release me+_ Helaine tried again.

_+No dice+_ Score reprimanded, shaking his head again.

Helaine's face arranged into what could only best be described as a pout, though she'd fiercely deny it. +_Why not_?+ she demanded instead, glaring at him. +_I feel absolutely fine_.+

_Except that you're not. _Score mused to himself, sighing and shaking his head. _And we can all tell._

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"_Score?"_

_Score looked up, saw Pixel, and offered a strange sort of grimace that he supposed could pass for a weak smile. _

"_She's gonna be all right, you know. With your healers, and with Jenna, she'll be fine."_

_Score nodded, but he didn't look convinced. "What happened to her?"_

_The normally blue-skinned boy sat down next to him, shaking his head. "I dunno."_

_Score leveled him with a look. "Seriously? You wanna try that on me? You're the one with the inside scoop."_

_Pixel frowned. "What makes you think that?"_

_Score sighed. "Benefits of macking on Helaine's personal healer." _

_At that comment, Pixel blushed furiously, and Score was bemused for half a second, having never seen Pixel blush without his blue skin. He'd have to give his compliments to Shanara for her clever spell._

"_Jenna didn't tell me anything that she didn't tell you," Pixel said at length, choosing to ignore Score's comment for the time being. _

"_So, what? We have nothing to go on? Pixel, there are three inches of _bone _missing from her freaking _arm_! That's not an accident!"_

"_I know," Pixel said calmly, even as Score's voice grew impatient and angry. "But that in itself tells us a lot."_

"_Like what?!"_

_Pixel paused, looking Score straight in the eye. "If it wasn't an accident…then we have to assume that it was deliberate."_

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_For all the frailty and weakness he'd appeared to have, the old man had been surprisingly spry when he'd decided to make his move. Helaine's was amazed at his sheer _speed_, not to mention his dexterity when he easily evaded her thrusts. And then he simply _disappeared_ – vanished into thin air – and reappeared behind her, his knobbled hands rubbing some sort of powder under her nose._

_Her vision blurred – white spots popped insistently at the edges of her eyes, and she furiously tried to ignore them, but it seemed the more she fought, the faster she lost herself – she found herself falling to the ground, heart pounding in her ears._

"_What are you to gain by this?" she bit out fiercely, as the old man leered over her like some sort of demented toy, whispering to his skull._

"_Bones," he said simply, rubbing more of his powder under her nose._

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"Damn you all; leave me _alone_," Helaine hissed, pushing away Jenna and Pixel's frantic hands as she reached her fingers into the cast once more.

"Helaine, you have to leave it on! At least until we can get you to Shanara!" Jenna cried, pulling Helaine's healthy hand insistently out from the cast on her injured arm. "It will give your arm time to heal!"

"I need no time to heal," Helaine snapped, pulling away from Jenna's grasp, even as Pixel wrestled her to the bed.

"Stop pushing yourself so hard," Pixel grunted, holding her firmly in place, even as she continued to struggle against him.

"I'm trying to itch my arm!" Helaine exclaimed, yanking free of Pixel's grip and inching her fingers once more under the cast. "Unless that's too _strenuous_ for me!" Her last comment was laced with sarcasm as Jenna and Pixel, looking quite stumped, backed off to let Helaine figure out her dilemma on her own.

Score, who'd been watching the spectacle, rested his forehead in his hands, exhausted from spending so much time here. Discussions with the doctors were confusing, even when Jenna used her Citrine to get them to explain themselves in more readily understandable terms. The reality was that Helaine had clammed up, refusing to speak to anyone about what had happened to her. The fact that Helaine was only fifteen years old made it hard to conduct proper tests, because she wasn't able to make such decisions for herself. Short of forcing Lord Votrin into coming to Earth, the most they could possibly do at this point was have her discharged so that Shanara could look into her injury properly.

Lord Votrin had been informed of his daughter's misfortune. Though he was on better terms with her now than he had been in the years past, he refused to be a part of any of her 'witchery,' and so refused to come and see her.

Helaine said she didn't particularly care.

Score knew that part of her did.

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_She had relaxed around this man when it became apparent that he was no stranger to flattery. Upon telling her his name – Mahli Sindri – he had wasted no time in asking for her own. He'd been most delighted at her simple 'Helaine Votrin,' exclaiming that in his culture there was a name similar to hers – H__jördís – which was so fitting, considering it meant 'sword goddess.'_

"_Most delightful, is it not, my sweet?" he crooned to his skull. _

"_Why do you speak to that…that skull?" Helaine found herself asking, grip tightening on her hilt in case he took offense to her pointing out his obvious lapse in sanity. To her surprise, the man grinned. _

"_Ragnheiður? But she is my teacher. Why shouldn't I speak to her?"_

"_Rag-nu-hide-her?"_

_The man Mahli Sindri laughed – in itself a disconcerting sound – and Helaine felt a little stab of embarrassment, finally releasing hold on her weapon._

"_But yes, my dear, we have not asked sweet __H__jördís of her unique build, nor of her strange aura," he whispered loudly to the skull, looking expectantly at Helaine, who just looked at him in confusion._

"_Unique build?"_

"_Why, __H__jördís, it's as if you read this beggar's thoughts! Ragnheiður and I were just discussing your bone structure; but we should not be surprised! Ragnheiður, did you not see she possesses the stature of a warrior!"_

_Helaine flushed, berating herself immediately for being taken in by his compliments. She wasn't being a very good warrior if she was standing here, listen to this old man go on about how amazing she was!_

"_But Ragnheiður, this aura is most peculiar. It is like the soothsayers of our village."_

"_Where do you come from, Mahli Sindri?" Helaine interjected, watching in surprise as the old man disappeared before her eyes, reappearing at her side an instant later. Her ability to predict her opponent's next move allowed her to turn to where the man would appear a fraction of a second before he actually did appear, and this appeared to entertain Mahli Sindri greatly. _

"_So you see, Ragnheiður, she is like us, isn't she?"_

"_What did you just do?" Helaine asked in surprise; her hand went to her side, ready to draw her sword._

"_It is a gift we possess – Ragnheiður and myself – we are able to go anywhere –"_

_Mahli Sindri disappeared once more, and Helaine looked around, just in time to see him reappear behind her. _

"—_in the blink of an eye," the old man finished, looking delighted at Helaine's palpable surprise. _

"_Are you…a magic user?" Helaine asked, looking at the skull – Ragnheiður – and wondering if there was more to it than met the eye._

_Mahli Sindri cocked his head at her, again disappearing, then reappearing to Helaine's left just as she turned to look at him again. _

"_But she can predict where we will appear! Not even the soothsayers could do that when they wanted to catch us! Delightful, Ragnheiður, simply delightful."_

_Helaine gasped in surprise as he leapt towards her, taking her hand in his own; his knobbled fingers gently squeezed the leather gauntlet she wore, as he muttered to himself in a language she didn't recognize. _

"_H__jördís, this ability to find Mahli Sindri no matter where he disappears– it is within you?"_

"_What do you mean?"_

_Mahli Sindri looked up at her, grinning in that eerie way that made her shiver._

"_In your bones?"_

"_I…suppose that's possible…but I don't know."_

_As Mahli Sindri disappeared again, reappearing at a greater distance, conferring with __Ragnheiður, Helaine had to wonder what was going through his head. She was certain she could handle it, though. She even found herself grateful for a stimulus; she'd feared she was going soft without anyone to challenge her fighting skills. And even tracking his movements through his strange ability was better than nothing._

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A U T H O R S N O T E

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Greatly (_Greatly_) influenced by Scribbler's 'Look Through My Eyes.' Amazing fic. The jump-around storyline is the brain-child of Scribbler, the characters belong to John Peel…

I invented Mahli Sindri! Does that count?

Ayaia


	7. The Process of Spreading Contagions

**Title**: The Process of Spreading Contagions  
**Author**: Ayaia of the Moon  
**Pairing**: Score/Helaine  
**Fandom**: Diadem: Worlds of Magic  
**Theme**: #18 – say ahh…  
**Rating**: K+  
**Disclaimer**: I own Diadem! Really! Am I lying? Yes! But I wish I weren't…

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The Process of Spreading Contagions

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Helaine Votrin abhorred sickness of any sort. She hated being bedridden, and she hated what interfered with her routine. It was just her nature. She was a warrior at heart, and the time she spent in bed could have been used for other, more useful things. Like scouting for new enemies. Or combat practice.

"Helaine, why are you being so damn annoying about this?"

Okay, useful things like pounding Score's _head_ into the ground.

"I'm fine," she muttered, shrugging his hand away as he tried to rest it on her forehead. It was quite irksome to her that Score found her contrary opinion of sickness so vexing.

Pixel was just quietly puzzled at the whole ordeal. It seemed that children on Calomir were given 'vacillations' to prevent sickness, and so he'd never actually contracted one. (Helaine made a mental note to ask him why an aptitude for indecision made for a healthy child.)

"Helaine, if you're so adamant that we don't treat your illness, it will only get worse," Pixel scolded then, frowning as she continued to evade Score's hand in its mission to touch her forehead. Despite her efforts, however, Score finally succeeded in his asinine task, only to immediately withdraw his hand, shaking it. A look of concern crossed his features.

"What is it?" Pixel asked, worriedly.

"Fever," Score said pointedly, feeling her forehead again to be sure. "She's sick, Pix," he sighed, taking the hand away again. "We need to get her some medicine or something."

"No, we need to find out what kind of sickness she has," Pixel said sensibly, going into problem-solving mode. "Even if we could find medicine of some kind, it might do more harm than good if it's for the wrong thing."

"Well, ask her majesty. What hurts, toots?"

Helaine started to huff a stern rebuke at Score for his teasing remark, and he hurriedly apologized, not wanting her to lecture him. She sighed. "My throat is most sore, and my chest feels crammed," she stated obediently, "and when I stand I feel dizzy, and when I move I feel quite nauseated."

"Sounds like the flu," Score said to Pixel, who seemed to have lost her when she said her chest was 'crammed.'

"What is the 'flu'?" asked Pixel, in stereo with Helaine. The two looked at each other and Score grinned.

"I'm seriously the authority on this? Seriously?"

"I've never had an illness," Pixel reminded them. "I only know about the diseases I've read about online."

At the word 'disease,' Helaine hurriedly looked at Score, worried. "Is this 'flu' a 'disease?' Could I…perish?"

"Woah. This is a change." Score sat on Helaine's bed. "You're not gonna die, Helaine. The flu isn't a disease; it's not even really dangerous. It's a…a stomach virus."

"Viruses _are_ quite dangerous though," Pixel said, looking at Score in alarm.

"Different virus, buddy. Computer viruses are bad for computers; human viruses just make us sick for a while. It's okay. It's a normal illness to have. Let's just wait for Jenna. She'll be back soon enough, and she knows more about this than we do," Score suggested, absently pushing Helaine back into her covers as she made to get up once more. "Where did she go, anyway?"

Helaine huffed in annoyance and Pixel said something incoherent to the effect of 'herb-gathering with Smoke.'

Score grinned again. "Perfect. She'll have medicine."

Pixel frowned. "I still say we should find out what sickness she has."

Score sighed. "See if there's a spell to identify an illness. If worse comes to worse, we'll get her to Shanara, and if Shanara can't help, we'll take her to a doctor on Earth. They're trained to handle stuff like this."

Pixel nodded, and left the room, muttering about viruses and doctors.

"I am actually feeling much better –" Helaine started, trying again to get out of bed.

"Hold it, missy. No matter the sickness, I know of two things that will help. Bed rest is the first." Score scolded her, pushing her adamantly back into her pillows. He then held his hand out in front of him, and instantly a glass of water appeared in his hand. "Lots of fluid is the second."

Helaine looked unimpressed. "Changing air into water I can understand, but where did you get the glass?"

Score flushed. "It's kinda made of ice. I haven't gotten my solid carbon-based objects down yet."

Helaine chuckled appreciatively, taking the water nonetheless and sipping at it. "It's much better than your strange fizzy drinks anyway," she sniffed, setting the glass down on her little table next to her bejeweled dagger.

Score scowled at her. "Just for that, no dessert, you."

"Okay, there's a spell," Pixel was saying from down the hall, his voice getting louder as he approached the room; "but it takes a lot of magic, and Helaine has to concentrate hard on her symptoms."

Pixel poked his head in the door at last, nose buried in one of the magic books that had made its home in their library, though Helaine was certain it had belonged to Shanara at one point.

"Should we wait for Jenna, or…" Score trailed off, looking at Helaine, who was scowling.

"I'm perfectly capable of helping out with the spell," she huffed, though she looked significantly paler than she had before.

Score looked at Pixel, and the pair sighed. Pixel sat on the end of the bed, balancing the book on his knee and looking at it intently as the three joined hands.

"Silaiceps oilever," Pixel muttered.

The effect was almost instantaneous, though Helaine fell back into her pillows from the unexpected _force_ of the spell, and Pixel looked at Score in confusion.

"I saw a word in my head," the blue-skinned boy said slowly, looking at Helaine, who looked rather the worse for wear. He stood up in alarm, but Score just laughed.

"I think we all saw a word in our heads," Score said at length. He held out the ice-glass to Helaine, who took it gratefully, drinking almost the entirety of the water within before she set the glass down again.

"It was a gibberish word," Helaine said, narrowing her eyes. "Right?"

"It looked more like a chemistry term," Pixel said thoughtfully.

"It's neither, and it's both at the same time," Score said. "Mononucleosis is a virus really similar to the flu…She'll get over it in a few weeks, though I might have gotten it by that time…"

Pixel looked up at this. "Am I in danger of contracting this disease as well?"

To everyone's surprise, Score blushed. "Ah, no. At least, I hope not. Um…You see…mononucleosis is famous because it's contagious through – ahem – saliva."

"Oh." This was Pixel, his blush even more spectacular than Score's, standing abruptly. "I'll go and see about Jenna's herbs, shall I?"

Before anyone could protest the blue-skinned boy's absence, the Calomirian was gone, leaving Score alone with Helaine.

"But saliva is spit, is it not?" Helaine said in confusion.

"Yeah," Score replied, letting out a long-suffered sigh.

"But…how could you contract my sickness if it's spread through my…" Helaine trailed off as the idea took root in her mind. _Surely…no…that couldn't…_

"I don't know, Helaine, what in the world would you have to be doing to get your spit in my mouth?" Score sarcasmed. He smirked when Helaine realized what he was implying.

Helaine then took great pleasure in, not shrieking at him in mortification, no, but sitting up unsteadily in her bed, taking the collar of Score's tee-shirt firmly in her fists and planting a long, firm kiss on his mouth.

In his surprise, Score fell with her back onto the bed, where she finally relinquished her hold on his shirt, pulling away with a triumphant grin that better suited Score himself.

"If I must be ill, you are sharing my illness with me," she said matter-of-factly.

There were no objections raised, though Score couldn't word any, and Helaine took that as assent as she set about sharing her contagions with the Earth-boy.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

A U T H O R S N O T E

:)

I had this stuck in my head for a while now. I'm so glad I finally cranked it out!

I'm gonna try and get a whole bunch of these out before the month is through. Wish me luck!

Ayaia of the Moon


	8. Anatomy of a Date

**Title**: Anatomy of a Date  
**Author**: Ayaia of the Moon  
**Pairing**: Score/Helaine  
**Fandom**: Diadem: Worlds of Magic  
**Theme**: #24 – Good Night  
**Rating**: K+  
**Disclaimer**: I own Diadem! Really! Am I lying? Yes! But I wish I weren't…

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"So…it's an outing?"

"Yes."

"It's not a fruit?"

"Nope."

"Or a nut?"

"No."

"It would be…a formal outing?"

"No, It can be casual if you want."

"But we cannot do chores? Or Errands?"

"No. It would defeat the purpose. This is a…a special outing."

"But special does not mean formal?"

"No! Just….just an outing. No other purpose than to have a fun time! No errands, no chores, no worries! Just you, me, and a nice dinner or something."

"Well, why didn't you say so! We'll tell Pixel, and –"

"No! Pixel can't come!"

"But Pixel is our friend!"

"I know. It's just…you've seriously never been on a date?"

"I still don't see how this has to do with courtship…"

"Courting, on my world, _is_ dating!"

"Courting has nothing to do with the things you've described!"

"Fine. Explain courting to me as you know it."

"When a boy has romantic intentions toward a girl, he asks her father for permission to court her –"

"Aha! And what does Courting entail?"

"Usually dinner with her family. Sometimes he will stay for after-dinner activities –"

"What activities?"

"Music, or discussions of the latest news concerning the Border Lords –"

"That's it?!"

"Well, afterward, the father can take the girl aside, and ask her whether or not she enjoyed herself, so that they can extend an invitation for him to come again."

"Ancient dating sucks!"

"Suck?"

"I mean…it's different on Earth."

"Yes, you've been saying that."

"On my world, dating doesn't always lead to marriage."

"Yes. Your heathen world again. Where the women wear scandalous clothing and worship the sun."

"Yup. But dating can be fun!"

"I don't see how an unproductive evening with no chores or errands can be beneficial to anyone."

"I didn't say it was beneficial. I said it was fun."

"I don't know why you would do this careless thing, though! It serves no purpose but to –"

"Helaine."

"Yes?"

"You know how sometimes…we kiss? For no reason?"

"Yes, but –"

"That doesn't really serve a purpose either, does it?"

"Well, no, but –"

"Exactly. That's why we date."

"For Gummi-worms?"

"…what?"

"…I jest…"

"Oh. Right."

"…"

"So…Helaine? Would you do the honor of going on a date with me tonight?"

"I'd be delighted!"

"Great! Now we can see what Shanara can do about a change of clothes…"

"For whom?"

"Well, both of us! We have to look nice!"

"I like what I'm wearing."

"It's not date-appropriate, though."

"Well, you said we didn't have to dress up."

"What? When?"

"Before. You said we could dress casually. This is my casual attire. I wear it every day!"

"But you can't dress the way you would every day for a date."

"Why in the world not?"

"…"

"Don't give me that long-suffering sigh, Score, answer my question!"

"Okay. Look…"

-o-

A U T H O R S N O T E

O.O

Dialogue FTW!!

…

I got nothin

Ayaia


	9. Choosing a Side And All that it Implies

**Title**: Choosing a Side – And All that it Implies  
**Author**: Ayaia of the Moon  
**Pairing**: Score/Helaine  
**Fandom**: Diadem: Worlds of Magic  
**Theme**: #25: fence  
**Rating**: K+  
**Disclaimer**: I own Diadem! Really! Am I lying? Yes! But I wish I weren't…

-o-

Score had never liked choosing sides. Choosing sides was for people with spines; people who actually had a moral compass, and were willing to do good, and stand up for what was right, and other crap like that.

Score was a pickpocket. His moral compass was, if anything, slightly askew.

When Score was ten years old, he made the choice to talk back to Bad Tony. An act of defiance even in the face of the fear he had when in face of the man.

In reward for his choice, Score had been kicked out of the apartment sporting a bloody nose and a verbal death threat ringing in his ears.

When Score was eleven years old, he had been in the wrong place at the wrong time at his school; a fight between a bully and a loner like himself.

Score had chosen to throw a small rock at the bully before making a run for it – it was a big step in the direction of bravery for him.

His reward for his attempt at bravery? A stern rebuke from the loner – he could have handled it fine, and now Score had made it worse – and a black eye from the bully – how dare a nobody like Score interfere with his God-given right to bully people if he wanted to?

All in all, Score had a philosophy involving choosing a side – a neutral party is better than a dead one.

He had never had the eloquence for philosophy anyway.

And, he decided, it was destined to be so – his ass was perfect for fence-sitting.

When Score was twelve years old, he was unwillingly dragged into a war that concerned not only his world, but the multiple worlds that made up the Diadem. And he was expected, not asked, to choose the right side.

Score firmly maintained his right to make his own choices.

_What's the good being a hero if it kills me along the way?_ He asked, quite logically, he thought.

_What's the good being a traitor if Helaine decides to skin you alive?_ Pixel answered, just as logically.

Score decided he feared Helaine's wrath more than the chance that he'd be killed; in the name of logic, of course.

And so, once more, Score chose a side. He didn't do it for chivalry, he didn't do it to stand up for what he believed was right – he didn't even do it because he wanted to.

He did it because of the simple fact that Helaine didn't seem the 'fence-sitter' type. She seemed the type to knock the fence over to spite everyone.

And so he made a new philosophy.

Better by the side of the maniacal sword-wielding Nazi than in her path.

He'd never had the eloquence for philosophy anyway.

When Score was thirteen years old, he was in the process of what he denied was a romantic relationship with above-mentioned sword-wielding Nazi.

He was unsure about the idea of the strings that would now attach him to Helaine. His old philosophy had ensured that there were no strings. He hated his father, his father hated him. No strings. He loved his mother, his mother kicked the bucket. No strings. He lived on a planet where the grass was purple and the trees looked like cotton candy. No strings.

Helaine kissing him? Definite inkling of strings.

Helaine gave him a look then. The same look she'd given him before. He realized he'd backed himself onto a fence.

He sighed, giving in to the inevitable – he hopped off the fence, choosing once more to be on Helaine's side rather than in her way.

When Score was fourteen years old, having lived a weird life so far, with a really weird collection of friends, and an even weirder collection of defeated enemies, he spared a thought to his abandoned fence. It was so lonely, without Score's ass to sit upon it.

Rather than oblige its loneliness, however, Score decided to do something else. He decided to have his mental manifestation of Helaine destroy the fence.

He made the choice to not be a fence-sitter anymore.

He made the choice to not be the neutral party.

He made this choice, not because he feared Helaine's wrath, not because it was in his best interest at that particular time to do so….

But because it was the right thing to do.

And in doing it, Score proved something that he didn't even realize he proved.

Even a person with a broken moral compass can still have the means to repair it.

It just takes the motivation of a sword-wielding Nazi to expedite said repair job.

He'd never had the eloquence for philosophy anyway.

And his ass could accustom itself to new things.

So, his imaginary fence thusly destroyed, Score marveled in the glory that was the side he'd chosen.

-o-

A U T H O R S N O T E

….yeah, this one popped out of nothing again. O.O

But I went with it. In all its random glory…

:D

Ayaia


	10. The Perils of Personal Ads

**Title**: The perils of Personal ads  
**Author**: Ayaia of the Moon  
**Pairing**: Score/Helaine  
**Fandom**: Diadem: Worlds of Magic  
**Theme**: #8: Our own World  
**Rating**: K-K+  
**Disclaimer**: I own Diadem! Really! Am I lying? Yes! But I wish I weren't…

-o-

The weather on Dondar was a strange thing. After such a long while of the agreeable, albeit colorful neutral season that wasn't too hot, nor too cold, something shifted. The Unicorns called it the time of the Great Frost. The explanation ran a little long, and Score gleaned the important bits from the boring bits: On Dondar, the seasons were longer. Winter only came every couple of years. But it lasted a lot longer.

Pixel was fascinated, of course. He'd never seen real snow, he said, since he'd spent nearly the entirety of his life in his house. He'd made a virtual snowman or two, but that was about it.

Helaine didn't seem to mind: long winters in a castle? She'd done it before.

Jenna seemed slightly ill-at-ease, but her feelings were washed away in light of Pixel's excitement.

Score, though, started to get a little worried. They weren't prepared. Their woodpile needed some serious work, they didn't have nearly enough blankets, not to mention warm clothing, and so he started to plot.

What they needed, he decided, were more people like Helaine. People who'd lived in castles and could help them out with their planning for the months (and possibly years) ahead.

Pixel thought it was a marvelous idea, as did Jenna, but Helaine had her doubts.

"Every strong magic-user we come across tries to kill us," Helaine pointed out.

"What about Shanara?" Pixel argued.

Score glared. "I see Helaine's line of reasoning."

"Well, we can think of qualities we'd want the person to have," Jenna wheedled.

"Great. We're gonna run a personals ad across the whole Diadem," Score complained. "Wanted: One strong magician, hopefully not bent on ruling the Diadem as we know it, and not bad to look at."

Helaine punched Score's shoulder.

"Well why not?" Pixel interrupted, cutting off Score's obligatory complaint. "We've summoned Oracle loads of times. Why not try the summoning spell this way?"

"Remember Aranak?" Score muttered, glaring at Helaine and rubbing his shoulder. "I have three words for you: Name, form, and substance. Before we can summon someone we have to have that information."

"Not necessarily," Helaine put in. "We don't really know _what_ Oracle is but we can summon him anyway."

"I think Helaine's right," Pixel said, nodding. "We can only have _control_ over someone if we have all three."

"What happened to '_Every strong magic-user we come across tries to kill us_'?" Score hissed at Helaine. She frowned at him.

"I think we should try it," Jenna said hurriedly, cutting off Helaine's explicative threat to something Score would surely need to reproduce.

"So…we need a strong magician," Pixel began.

"Someone who is strong enough to survive on this planet," Jenna added.

Helaine sighed. "They have to be smart."

"And it would help if they've lived in a castle during the winter before," Score put in.

"Why can't we just ask Shanara?" Helaine argued.

"That's no fun," Score snapped. "Concentrate."

"And Shanara isn't strong enough to come to us," Jenna whispered.

"We're making all this fuss for nothing," Helaine muttered, but she finally started to concentrate.

"Strong Magician, Very Smart, Lives in a Castle in the winter? That about covers it, right?" Pixel said at last. "We just have to say it backwards."

Everyone nodded the affirmative. Pixel cleared his throat, joining hands with Helaine on his left, Jenna on his right. "Retniw eht ni eltsac a ni sevil trams yrev naicigam gnorts."

Score held back a snort of laughter, and concentrated.

There was the familiar sound of a portal opening, and a girl about their age fell through it.

The four magicians of Dondar looked over the new magician in their midst. She, in turn, looked them over, clutching a stick in her right hand. "Who are you?" she said abruptly, brandishing the stick at them.

Score traded glances with Pixel, noting at the back of his mind that this newcomer spoke with an accent that sounded similar to Helaine's or Jenna's. Another magician from Ordin then? Then he took in her attire. A red hat and scarf paired with a homemade sweater and what were unmistakably jeans and sneakers.

"Pixel," the so-named boy said, interrupting Score's train of thought. "And this is Score, ah, Renald, and…"

"Widge," Jenna interrupted, offering a false name of her own.

'_Witch'_ Score realized. _I get it_.

"Why am I here?" the girl said, neglecting to introduce herself. "What do you want?" She continued to brandish the stick at them, and Score couldn't help but wonder what she thought she was going to do – poke them to death?

"We summoned you here," Pixel said. "By magic."

The girl seemed to relax a little. "Where is 'here?'" she asked.

"Dondar," Jenna answered simply.

"I'm…I'm on another…another planet then?"

"What's the name of your planet?" Score said suspiciously.

"Earth."

Helaine and Jenna turned to Score, and he shrugged. Earth was a big place. There were probably a bunch of magic-users there.

"Did you say you summoned me?"

"Yes," Helaine answered decidedly. "And it's not impossible, it's magic –" she started to explain, but to everyone's surprise, the girl cut her off.

"Of course it's magic. I'm not daft. I was wondering how your summoning spell has such a far reach. Mine –" here, she lifted her stick and pointed it toward a stray snowboot, muttering something under her breath.

She appeared surprised when it shot toward her with the force of a cannon, along with the rug that the boot had been sitting on and three paving stones from the floor.

"I see," she said breathlessly, depositing the boot on the floor. "I apologize for the damage to your floor."

"It's fine," Score mumbled. "We can fix it –"

"Nonsense," she shook her head, pointing the stick towards the spot where the stones had come loose. Another mutter of something, and the spot was perfect – better looking, in fact, than any other place in the room.

Score started to say something, but Pixel, it seemed, couldn't contain himself any longer.

"This stick controls your magic?" he asked excitedly. "What makes it work? Does it just run by magic? Is there a catalyst of some sort that makes it easier to handle? Will any sitck do?"

"You do magic," the girl said, tilting her head. "What do you use?"

"Our gemstones," Pixel said eagerly, ignoring the pained looks Helaine was giving him. Pixel pulled his ruby from his pocket, and the girl nodded.

"It does seem magic. I'll have to ask about gemstones working in lieu of wands; we find trees with magical properties powered with something from a magical beast; Unicorn tail hairs, Phoenix feathers, and the like."

"There are magical creatures on Earth? Really?"

"Of course. They're hidden, though. Imagine how everyone would react to seeing dragons and centaurs galloping about everywhere; but that wouldn't be the problem here?"

"No, we're the only humans living on this planet, so far as we know. We've met centaurs on Rawn, and we have Unicorns here, but phoenixes? I'd love to see a phoenix. What are they like?"

"As much as Pixel would love to discuss this stuff all day," Score interrupted at last, glaring at Pixel, who looked slightly sheepish. "We need some help in winter preparations. Our spell summoned you because you've lived in a castle in the wintertime, correct?"

"Yes. I'd be there now, but we're on holiday. It's nearly Christmas, you know," the girl said, as if discussing the weather. Score couldn't get over how casually she spoke of magical things. It's as if she'd been using magic all her life.

"What's Christmas?" Jenna said then, in a curious tone.

"Glorious holiday," Score grinned, turning to Helaine. "Kissing under the Mistletoe. You and me."

Helaine rolled her eyes.

"It's a winter holiday…Where are you from?" the girl asked, in a tone just as curious as Jenna's had been.

"Ordin."

"Another different planet. Fascinating."

"Yeah, Fascinating. Our winter's about to hit, it lasts a long time…what do you suggest? Our only help is Helaine, and she's sorta chronologically challenged," Score said, feeling as if he was talking to a ten-year-old with no attention span. Or Pixel, when he was really excited about something.

"No electricity? Hmm…I'd suppose a lot of firewood for warmth, as well as plenty of layers – heavy cloaks, thick socks. I don't suppose you drink coffee?"

"How do you keep warm? In your castle?" Pixel asked. The girl seemed eager to direct her answers to him. As if they were kindred spirits.

"The castle I live in is sort of big, and we don't have electricity either; most of the things are done by magic, but the fireplaces are simple enough to upkeep, if you have enough wood –"

"We don't."

"Well, a simple duplicating charm should do the trick. Where's your woodpile?"

Score let Pixel show the girl to the woodpile, and the second they were out of sight, Helaine whirled on Score.

"Your world has more magic users? Why didn't you tell us?"

"I didn't know. It's not like I knew her – she probably lives on the other side of my world."

Helaine snorted. "I don't like her here. She can help us, but then we have to send her back."

"Okay, fine with me," Score muttered. The girl was too much like Pixel, anyway. Too smart, and definitely too much trouble to keep around – it was hard enough having _one_ Pixel.

After showing the group how she worked her charm, and after Pixel tried and failed to do the same thing with his own magic, and after Score suggested that they just have Shanara duplicate the rest with the spell she knew, and after Pixel had an in-depth discussion with the girl about what the Diadem really was, Score was ready to shoot someone. Probably Pixel.

But finally, they started bidding the strange girl farewell, and concentrating on forming the portal back to wherever it was that she'd come from, with Pixel promising her to work out how to send her letters or something to discuss their different kinds of magic.

As the portal winked into existence, Score thought on the mixed feelings that the group seemed to have about their visitor.

Score didn't like her. She was too know-it-all. And like he'd said, they only needed _one_ know-it-all on this world, and Pixel was it.

Helaine was wary of her. Score guessed it was that stick of hers that demolished a foot of floor in their living room.

Pixel seemed almost enamored of her, and Jenna didn't seem to care for that; Score decided that she probably didn't much like her either.

All in all, Score was glad that they were sending her home, though Pixel was taking his sweet time in saying goodbye to her.

"What was your name again?" the girl asked, grinning at Pixel and lagging back before stepping through the portal. "I simply must tell my friends that I've met you."

"Pixel. Well, Shalar Domain. But Pixel."

"Okay, Pixel but Pixel. I hope to see you again! It was lovely meeting you all!"

"Ditto," Score muttered, straining to keep the portal open.

"What was your name?" Pixel asked then, as if the thought had just occurred to him.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Hermione. Hermione Granger."

-o-

A U T H O R S N O T E

O.O

Oh, come on. You know it had to be done. Admit it.

:D

Trying to speed through the rest of these…ten down, twenty to go!

~Ayaia


	11. Notes of Note

**Title**: Notes of Note  
**Author**: Ayaia of the Moon  
**Pairing**: Score/Helaine  
**Fandom**: Diadem: Worlds of Magic  
**Theme**: #2: news; letter  
**Rating**: K+  
**Disclaimer**: I own Diadem! Really! Am I lying? Yes! But I wish I weren't…

-o-

_Dear Helaine,_

_I've just cussed myself out for doing this at all, because my handwriting sucks, but it's the only way I can say this; in fact, I've been telling myself that I don't even have to give you this letter if I don't want, and I think that's the only way I can continue to write it._

_Here it goes:_

_Since you left, I've been…well, I've been thinking. I know this is horribly cliché, but I've been thinking about us. And…Lord, I can't even write it down. I can barely say it out loud._

_You remember when you came and told us that you wanted some personal time and whatever? I tried for days to convince myself that I didn't miss you. I went through this whole thing of wanting to hunt down some kind of stray animal to adopt as a pet. I think I wanted to replace you, because it felt weird to have you gone. Not that you're replaceable, but…_

_Now I'm yammering. Okay, look._

_I'm pretty sure that I like you. We're both agreed on that. I wouldn't have tried to defend your honor with Dorko Peverel if I didn't like you. (And I did defend your honor, dammit, I just didn't do it very well.) And you wouldn't have said that you didn't mind kissing me if you didn't like me too, right?_

_Well, I just haven't been able to stop thinking about you. And it's honestly sort of freaking me out. But I think I've come to a sort of conclusion that makes sense: And I like you. Like, more than you thought. More than I thought. _

_Like, I wouldn't mind too terribly if we decided to kiss again. And again and again and again. I'm pretty sure, actually, that we could fuse our lips together magically and get along fine. Except we might die of starvation. But apart from that…_

_So, tell me what you think. Of this whole liking you situation. Or the thing about us fusing our lips together. Either one. Or, you know, don't. Because I might not give you this letter. _

_This was a bad idea._

_Score_

_-o-_

_Dear Score,_

_I can't write very well – I thought it was silly to learn penmanship._

_I think I'm all right with the idea. The idea of you liking me, I mean, not the idea that we fuse our mouths together because that is honestly kind of silly._

_I didn't understand a lot of what you wrote, not because your penmanship is too horrible, but because when you write, you don't explain your strange Earth jargon…_

_What exactly does 'Freaking out' mean? I know you must have told me before…_

_I will see you shortly._

_Helaine_

_-o-_

When Score next saw Helaine, she thrust a letter into his hand and stood there while he read it.

And when he finished, she took his face in her hands and kissed him.

After a moment of shock, Score returned the kiss with fervor.

And he decided that if he should ever fail at being a magic-user, he should take up writing. Because apparently he was good at it.

-o-

A U T H O R S N O T E

Partially inspired from my 'Letters to no one' story.

It turned out well, I believe.

:D

~Ayaia


	12. Prelude to Calamity: Part Two

**Title**: Prelude to Calamity: Part Two  
**Author**: Ayaia of the Moon  
**Pairing**: Score/Helaine  
**Fandom**: Diadem: Worlds of Magic  
**Theme**: #10: #10  
**Disclaimer**: I own Diadem! Really! Am I lying? Yes! But I wish I weren't…  
***Strong PG-13/T warning! Contains scary stuff! You have been warned!***

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Prelude to Calamity: Part Two

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Score was usually a very relaxed soul. He'd grown up in New York. If he'd spent every waking moment restless, or stressed…then he'd have exploded. His philosophy in life usually had to do with witty cynicism and, God forbid, a little humor. But he had never had this amount of stress piled on him before. It was one thing to be hurt himself and quite another, he'd come to realize, to watch someone so close to him be hurt.

Especially when it was Helaine.

He swatted angrily at a purple tree, annoyed that it could be such a buoyant color in the midst of his frustration.

Sometimes he felt traces of the _old_ Score when he got like this. Little voices that told him this is what came from him having friends. If he'd just not made friends with them in the first place, he wouldn't be feeling like this right now, would he? He wasn't supposed to trust anyone. He'd trusted his mother and she'd died. (Sort of) He'd felt he could then trust Tony, and all he'd gotten was multiple threats to his person and his life.

But he vehemently shoved the thoughts from his head. Because he knew that counting Helaine, Jenna, and Pixel (not to mention all the other beings he'd met since moving through the Diadem) as his friends, was well worth the heartache he felt when something happened to one of them. As he'd once said to Tony – having friends like he had was better than the sort of respect the mob-leader had tried beating into his son.

Pixel had tentatively asked whether Score would prefer to stay home while he went with Jenna to the hospital that day.

Score had shaken his head, offering a lopsided grin that was his trademark. Jenna was persuading the doctors to discharge Helaine today, so that she and Shanara could finish with the healing she still required.

It would be best for _everyone_ to be there with her as she crossed through the portal to Rawn.

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"_Let it go?" Score looked up from the huddle he and Pixel were in, looking at Jenna like she was insane. _

"_Sometimes it's best to just move on. We know that what happened was terrible, and we know that it is painful for Helaine…so maybe we should just leave it alone. Do you think _I_ held on to every grudge that every person on Ordin ever had against me? If I had, it would have torn me apart. Sometimes…it's better to just let it go." _

_Score continued to gape at Jenna with an incredulous look. He opened his mouth, and Pixel shot him a look. _

"_You…you don't agree?"_

"_Jenna," Pixel said gently, "if there _is_ someone on Dondar who did that to Helaine…don't you want to find them?"_

"_What for?" Jenna insisted. "Who are we to exact vengeance?"_

"_I thought we were her _friends_," Score said bluntly. He might as well have slapped her, for the look of hurt on her face. He felt a stab of remorse, wishing he could take it back. After all, Jenna was the last person to preach to about being Helaine's friend, after the time she'd had gaining Helaine's friendship in the first place. _

"_Finding this person won't do anything to take back what they did," Jenna said firmly. _

"_But…_not_ trying to find them would be worse," Score said, adopting the same gentle tone Pixel had used. _

_Jenna just sighed. "Maybe we should ask Helaine."_

_Score copied the sigh. "Maybe."_

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"Maybe you should think about going back to Ordin for a while."

"What?" Helaine looked up, startled, at Score as he wandered into the courtyard. Helaine trained sometimes in the courtyard to keep herself from accidentally dicing up the few pieces of actual furniture they had in the castle. Not that it stopped her from taking her exertion out on some of the defenseless multicolored trees.

"You heard me. Clear your head. Relax."

"Right," Helaine said, turning her attention to the tree she'd decapitated. She hadn't asked to see Flame. She'd been training alone in the courtyard in the time she usually spent with her unicorn friend. Score didn't miss how strange that was.

"I'm serious." Score went on.

"I'm _fine_!" Helaine said, whirling around and glaring at him with an intensity he wasn't sure he liked. "Your incompetent healers on Earth pronounced me fit to leave their tortuous facility, did they not?"

"Jenna had a hand in that and you know it. Besides; those doctors don't know the stuff we have to deal with – who are they to pronounce you fit for everyday life when they don't know what we do every day?"

"My arm no longer pains me, and Shanara said I should start my routine to get the muscles used to it."

"Shanara also said that you should take it easy and _that_ –" Score indicated the once glorious tree that was now destined to join its multicolored brethren in their woodpile by the kitchen – "is hardly taking it easy."

"I don't want to fall behind my training."

"Training for _what_, Helaine?! You've never trained this hard before, and you've been acting _really_ paranoid. What do you think is out there to get you?" Score exclaimed.

Helaine narrowed her eyes. "I don't want to fall so behind that even _you_ can beat me," she said arrogantly. Score was reminded of Eremin. It disconcerted him.

"Helaine," he tried again, his voice gentle; "All I mean is that after something like this…we wouldn't think less of you for a little hiatus. And it would probably do more good for you than you realize –"

"But I need none of this 'hiatus' because I'm perfectly _fine_!"

"I disagree," Score said firmly. "You're not fine. I can name about ten things off the top of my head that _prove_ you're not fine."

"_Your_ definition of 'fine,'" Helaine muttered.

"You haven't told us what the hell even _happened_," Score said, counting down a finger, "not to mention the fact that you haven't left the castle grounds since you got here."

"I was merely obeying orders."

"You haven't come within a mile of Flame or any of the other unicorns, and they probably think they offended you or something."

"I've been busy."

"You don't leave your room unless you come out here to train, and you haven't been eating properly."

"What number are we on now? Seven?"

"Six, actually. Jenna told me you've been _sleeping_ in your chain mail."

"I want to be well-protected."

"That's when you sleep at all. Usually, you _don't_ sleep, you pace the castle at night, checking windows and locking doors."

"Who told you that?"

"Pixel. He also said that he saw you sleeping in the armory, of all places –"

"Your reasoning seems to be somewhat flawed, since you just said I don't seem to sleep."

"And Jenna told us that whenever you'd fall asleep at the Hospital, you'd never sleep peacefully. Restless sleep is the sign of a troubled mind."

"That's only nine things."

"You haven't told me what happened."

"You already said that."

"No. You haven't told _me_ anything."

Helaine frowned. "You don't think me fit to do what we need done. And now you expect me to just agree with your foolish reasoning?"

"Better my foolish reasoning than your pointless paranoia."

Helaine said nothing. She did, however, scowl fiercely, throwing her dagger into the heart of the forgotten tree. Then she brushed past him to go back into the castle, harshly checking his shoulder without apology.

Score punched the tree angrily when she had gone, wishing suddenly for a sword of his own to cut something up with.

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"_Does that feel better?"_

"_It feels like my arm was broken in two."_

"_Funny how that works, isn't it?" The nurse laughed and twisted Helaine's arm gently, moving it up and down. "How about now?"_

_Helaine wiggled her fingers and grinned. "I like the movement."_

_The nurse turned toward Score, who had requested to be present for all of Helaine's physical therapy. Jenna was there as well, albeit invisible, and Pixel was getting some much-needed rest on Rawn. "That's her way of a compliment? That's what you said, right?"_

_Score grinned. The nurse was probably in her mid-twenties, chewing gum like a high-school kid, and talking with a thick New Jersey accent. "Something like that."_

_The nurse – Delia – turned her attention once more to Helaine, who was attempting to slowly shift her fingers into a fist. "Good job. Keep doin' that – flexin' your fingers, and you'll be outta here in no time." _

_Then she turned from Helaine, gesturing for Score to come in conference with her. Score leaned in obligingly and Delia whispered to him in concern._

"_I'm not sure if this…delusion that she's some kind of Xena: Warrior Princess is normal, or if it's residual emotional trauma from the incident – I've ordered a psych consult and –" _

"_That won't be necessary," Score said quickly. "It will probably go away."_

_Delia gave him a look, but then her eyes seemed to lose their focus. "You're probably right," she said at last, nodding in an absent way. "I'll call them off."_

_Score looked meaningfully at the slab of empty air by Helaine's side that he knew Jenna occupied and shot her a wink._

_Helaine, having missed the significance of the bullet Score had deflected for her, looked up, frowning. "I can move my hand…was this healing venture successful? Shall we take our leave?"_

"_It'll take more time," Score said. "It's not that easy – there's someone else's bone in your arm."_

_Helaine frowned. "I had figured _that_ out already." _

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Helaine opened her eyes abruptly, brows furrowed unattractively when she felt sweat dripping down her back.

She sighed, biting back a curse. She shoved the dream into a little corner in her mind – the same dusty corner she stored most of the advice her father gave her – and decided that it wouldn't do to make a fuss about the nightmare she'd had. Especially if it meant dealing with Score's smug '_I told you so_' attitude or Jenna's forceful, sickeningly sweet attempt at female companionship.

She instead, set about changing the tunic she wore under her chain mail. She didn't spare a glance to her bedclothes, deeming the chore of washing them appropriate for another time.

She didn't even entertain the notion of leaving her armor off once she had changed. She pulled her gauntlets on last, though, not sure how she felt about the new leather that covered the skin on her right arm. She was unused to the feel of the scar on her arm – spider web-thin, it spanned the length of her wrist to her elbow.

She touched her bare feet to the cold stone floor, and, preferring silence to comfort, she left the room sans foot-coverings.

Her usual activities after having a nightmare like this usually involved checking the locks on all the doors and windows – but since her encounter with Score, she'd been wary. She felt now, though, a most inexplicable urge to check again – just in case.

She turned the corner, heading for the lower level of the Castle, gasping when she spotted Pixel on the stairs.

"You scared the life out of me!" she hissed angrily, punching him in the arm when he was close enough.

Pixel looked calm. Not at all tired, which was somewhat odd – like he'd been lying in wait for her, just waiting until she –

No. That would be Score. Not Pixel.

"I thought you'd stopped checking the locks. You haven't done it for three days." His statement was far from accusatory, but Helaine sighed nonetheless.

"So Score's having me watched?"

Pixel shook his head. "Score isn't me." He leaned against the wall casually. "Nightmares?"

"Why doesn't everyone just leave me alone?" Helaine growled. Was she really so transparent?

"We're worried about you. We're your friends," Pixel answered simply.

Helaine felt something change. She offered up a notquite smile. "Don't be daft. I don't need you worrying about me."

Pixel grinned in return. "Sorry. That's what we do. We worry, even when you say there's no cause for it."

Helaine rolled her eyes, turning to pad up the stairs. She didn't even care that she'd neglected to check the locks.

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"_When are they supposed to get here?" Score whined, sounding much like Blink when he was being cranky. Which was most of the time._

_Shanara chuckled fondly, stroking the red panda, asleep in her arms (big surprise). She shared a knowing glance with Pixel and winked. Her hair was black as Jenna's Obsidian today, and Pixel couldn't help but think that she looked like she could be Jenna's older sister._

"_I think he's excited," Shanara was saying, scratching Blink absently between the ears._

"_I think so too," Pixel said, allotting himself a chuckle of his own. "He's been waiting for this."_

"_I think it's safe to say we were all waiting for this," Shanara replied, looking over at Score and smiling. _

_Pixel nodded, looking out the grand window of Shanara's library at the perpetually snowy mountaintop. "When did they say they'd contact you, Shanara?" Pixel asked then, but Shanara had started shaking Blink awake._

"_Blink, help me with the portal. Blink, wake up! You lazy creature!"_

_Blink muttered something incoherently into Shanara's arm, flopping stubbornly and refusing to be awakened. _

_Shanara sighed. "I hate to do this Blink, but…"_

_And with no warning whatsoever, she dropped her arms, depositing Blink on the floor, and effectively waking him up._

"_That's not very nice, Shanara," Blink pouted, scratching behind his ear nonchalantly._

"_I just need your help to form the portal – Pixel and Score need to conserve their strength to form the next portal to Dondar."_

"_Work, work, work," Blink whined, stretching nonetheless and waddling into Shanara's waiting arms. _

"_I'll make you a nice dinner," Shanara wheedled, "but you'll have to really concentrate on a nice, big portal, all right?"_

_Pixel spared a glance at Score, who looked ready to drop-kick Blink out the window. _

_The portal formed without any further delay, however, and Pixel felt a wave of relief wash over him as Jenna's dark-haired head bobbed into sight, escorting Helaine quickly, but gently through the portal._

_As the portal winked shut behind them, Jenna beamed at Pixel, coming eagerly towards with arms outstretched._

"_It was horrid. They kept us there signing things, and I think the second I put my Citrine away, they might have realized that everything we'd said was a complete lie, but by then I'd put my invisibility to work…I don't think I'll be of much use in making the next portal, though." Jenna aimed this last statement at Score, who'd come forward, listening politely, but quite obviously eager to talk to Helaine._

_She looked fine, though a little paler than she normally was, and dressed in an obligatory pair of hospital scrubs._

_She had a long bandage running up her arm._

"_How're you doing?" Pixel asked her at last, unable to stand the palpable tension in the air._

"_Fine," Helaine said shortly_

_There was another span of silence, and Score met it this time. "That's good. We've missed having you around."_

_It took quite longer than necessary, but Helaine eventually met that statement with an expression that Pixel supposed could pass as a smile._

_Score sighed. "Okay, miss Sunshine. I was going to wait until later, but here." He thrust a package at her._

_Helaine took it uncertainly, though she unwrapped it deftly, and without pause. A gauntlet. Just like the one she'd had before her arm had been sliced open. But it looked newer._

_Score shrugged, showing modesty that didn't suit him. Pixel knew how long he'd been working on this. He'd had to find the gauntlet for her left arm, duplicate it, transfigure it into a right-handed gauntlet. Not to mention the time he'd spent polishing the leather to make it look so nice._

"_Thank you," Helaine said then. Her voice didn't waver in the slightest, showing a cool calmness that didn't suit her any more than Score's new modesty._

_Pixel cleared his throat. "Well, did you want to change now, or on Dondar?" he asked, holding out a bag of his own, though his was not a present, but a simple bag with one of Helaine's tunics and the armor she usually wore. Helaine took the bag without hesitation, and started making her way to the private quarters Shanara usually had them change in. Jenna wordlessly went with her. Jenna didn't explain the reasoning behind her actions, nor did Helaine object in the slightest when Jenna appeared beside her, and so Pixel and Score were left with Shanara and a grumpy Blink, watching them go in confusion._

"_She probably needs help," Shanara said then. "She might not have full movement of her arm down, and that would impede her ability to dress herself._

_The boys flamed._

"_You promised me a nice dinner," Blink felt it appropriate to remind Shanara then. _

_Shanara sighed, turning towards the kitchen, chastising her charge quietly for his lack of compassion._

"_Pixel?"_

_He glanced up, seeing Jenna, but not Helaine. Jenna smiled._

"_She's nearly ready. Do you two have enough strength to make the portal yourselves, or is Shanara coming back?"_

"_Jenna, what's wrong with her?" Score asked pointedly, disregarding her question altogether. _

_Jenna frowned. "She is healthy, if that's what you mean."_

"_Score just means her attitude. She didn't even insult us. It's weird, for her," Pixel explained patiently._

"_The healers – "_

_Score cut her off. "Doctors," he corrected her._

_Jenna sighed. "The doctors then. They said that she might need time to get used to her old life again. They used some big, confusing terms like '_acclimatize_,' and '_initial depression'_ and '_paranoia_.' I managed to convince them to explain themselves better."_

_Score's eyes narrowed. "What did they mean by '_initial depression'_ and '_paranoia_?'"_

_Jenna adopted an expression most akin to Pixel's face when he went into full-blown problem-solver mode. "That was mostly her…syko-logical consult."_

_Score swore._

"_What did this consultant say?" Pixel said, with much less profanity that Score probably wanted to phrase the question with._

_Jenna's eyes closed as she tried to remember the exact wording. "She lacks…closure. And if she doesn't find it, she will not be at true rest until she does."_

"_And what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Score snapped._

_Pixel frowned at him. "It means…that until she actually lets us in on what exactly must have happened…she won't be able to put it behind her."_

_Score blinked. "She has to share her feelings with us? Of when she was scared and having her arm hacked open?"_

"_Apparently," Pixel nodded._

"_Well, shit."_

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* _Helaine?_ *

Helaine tried hard not to jump. She sighed inwardly though, knowing the all-too-familiar thought directed at her was Flame. The tree she stood in front of didn't really resemble a tree, and the woodpile at Castle Garonath was growing with an almost alarming speed. Like it was already time for their insanely long Dondarian winter. * _Did Score send you_? * She thought, not turning around.

_* No. I had heard that you haven't told anyone what really happened to your arm. *_

Helaine turned around at last, scowling. * _This '_closure'_ they speak of? I don't care for it. I can still use my sword. And that's all I wanted_. *

* _My father says that holding this pain within you will eventually destroy you from the inside out_, * Flame thought seriously.

Helaine found herself itching to stroke Flame's mane, and was surprised when the Unicorn pushed her nose into Helaine's fingers, still clutching her sword.

* _I don't plan on being destroyed at all_, * Helaine thought stubbornly, sheathing her sword and giving in to her impulse at last, stroking Flame's muzzle, surprised at how comforting the simple gesture was.

* _Your friends in that castle agree wholeheartedly_, * Flame thought. * _Even if they are no good two-legged magicians_, * she added teasingly.

Helaine sighed. Score's suggestion that she go back to Ordin rang in her ears. She wagered Flame had never been asked to leave. No, Thunder wouldn't do that. Thunder would defend Flame's right to be in their herd to his last breath.

* _Do Thunder and Nova know you're here, talking to me_? * Helaine thought curiously.

* _It was my father's idea_, * Flame admitted. * _You're only lucky I kept him from coming too. Our whole herd is worried about you_. *

* _They don't need to be worried about me_, * Helaine thought decidedly.

* _Maybe_. *

* _I appreciate that they're worried, but I'm fine. I just don't want to be pestered. I want to stay here and train_. *

* _And I support that. I wasn't planning on stopping you_. *

* _You weren't?_ *

* _Staying with his normal routine is what helped my father after Darkstar – and Marmanki_ *

Helaine nodded. * _I don't suppose you could tell that to Score?_ *

* _Why?_ *

* _He has this crazy idea that I should go back to Ordin. '_Clear my head. Relax_.' He doesn't think I can manage. _*

* _Can you?_ *

Helaine unsheathed her sword again, and with a fierce lunge, felled the rest of her dilapidated tree in one blow. * _Yes_. *

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This stretch of Unicorn pasture looked much like any other stretch of Unicorn pasture, Score decided, but he wasn't concentrating on the scenery. After serious discussion, he and Pixel had come to the alarming conclusion that Helaine had been attacked on Ordin itself. The biggest support of this theory had come from Nova, in her communications with Pixel that she'd found Helaine's gauntlet.

He inspected the whole pasture with his jasper, finally finding the area and immediately setting off for it.

When they'd initially found Helaine, it was Pixel who'd pointed out that the depth of the wound in question was not proportionate with the amount of blood they'd found on the ground around her.

The place he now looked at certainly seemed to be the opposite; the blood on the ground was not proportionate to the lack of source there appeared to be.

Spotting something, Score crouched to the ground, getting a sturdy stick and poking it into the mess, almost gagging when he withdrew what he'd been looking for. The bloodied fragment of what looked like the sleeve of one of Helaine's tunics.

Next instant, he'd leapt to his feet in fury, extending his palm, fireball at ready, throwing it into the ground in front of him.

He watched what he knew to be Helaine's blood burn away, not caring when small showers of sparks kissed his arms.

Then he changed the flame into hot air, and for good measure, he extracted his Chrysolite and drenched the area in water. He pocketed the gem, and after some trepidation, tore off a section of his tee-shirt, wrapping the sleeve within its folds, and pocketed that as well.

Then, without another word, he turned on his heel, headed back to the Castle.

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A U T H O R S N O T E

Kinda morbid, wasn't it? Still obviously based on Scribbler's _Look Through My Eyes_

http : / / fanfiction . net / s / 3935365 / 1 / Look _ Through _ My _ Eyes

Mine is starting to show its deviation, though. :D

I hope to finish these in the next few days, because I'm going to be out of the country…

:crosses fingers:

~Ayaia


	13. The Ins and Outs of Tradition

**Title**: The ins and outs of tradition  
**Author**: Ayaia of the Moon  
**Pairing**: Score/Helaine  
**Fandom**: Diadem: Worlds of Magic  
**Theme**: #1 – look over here  
**Rating**: K+  
**Disclaimer**: I own Diadem! Really! Am I lying? Yes! But I wish I weren't…

-o-

When what the Unicorns had called the 'Great Frost' had struck Dondar, the four teens living in what had once been Castle Garonath had aptly prepared for it; they all had warmer clothing, they all had warmer bedding, and they all had helped keep the woodpile well stocked.

And then, Score had announced that he wanted to have Christmas.

This made for long discussions about what Christmas was, and why they should celebrate it.

Pixel seemed most eager for it. Jenna was eager too. Helaine needed more persuading.

Ultimately, Score decided to start the festivities whether Helaine liked it or not.

Soon enough, Helaine was seen bossing Pixel about, complaining that the way he was rearranging their living room wouldn't allow for the space needed for a tree.

Jenna had to wonder whether or not Score had planned it that way.

Ultimately, Jenna was experiencing a lot of firsts with her strange new friends. This marked the first winter she'd spent away from her home, the shack though it was, as well as the first holiday she'd ever celebrated with other people.

Pixel sidled up beside her, stealing a kiss and pointing at the strange plant Score was struggling to hang above the doorframe.

"What _is_ he doing?" Jenna asked curiously. "That's no herb I recognize…is he trying to dry it?"

"Nine times out of ten, whatever he does is done to annoy Helaine," Pixel answered. "Statistically, I'd wager that's what he's doing."

Jenna giggled. Leave it to Pixel to make up a statistic about a simple question.

Helaine appeared then, standing under the door and shouting up at Score to stop being foolish. Score recklessly leapt from the perch he'd made of the well-placed window-ledge, grinning cheekily and pointing up at the plant now dangling half-hazardly from the keystone of the archway that was their door.

Jenna watched in amusement as Score, without any warning at all, pulled Helaine close, kissing her firmly on the lips, in full view and awareness of herself and Pixel as an audience.

Helaine's surprised voice drifted over to them.

"What are you doing?"

"Wow, Helaine. I didn't know I'd have to go this slowly. This…is called a kiss. We've done it before. It's the smooshing of people's lips together as a sign of affection, or –"

"I know what a kiss is, you dolt, I was inquiring as to the…the spontaneity of it!"

"Spontaneity?"

"Where the hell did that come from?"

"Ah. Well, you see, it's this plant…it's called mistletoe. When two people meet under the mistletoe, they kiss."

Helaine's glance turned accusingly to Jenna.

Jenna reddened. "I didn't even know what it was!" she said defensively.

"So it's customary on your world with this holiday to kiss people under guise that it is solely to appropriate the tradition of a plant?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess. It doesn't sound good at all when you say it like that…"

"Truly? You go to unsuspecting women and say "_Hey, look over here_!" so that you can kiss them?!"

"No! It's _supposed_ to be unplanned, you know? It's, uh, more romantic that way."

"You tell me my planet is barbaric and uncivilized, Score, but we don't stoop to using a weed as a catalyst for a token of affection –"

"It's a parasite, actually," Pixel put in. Jenna hit him.

"Not helping, Pix," Score called, looking abnormally fidgety.

Helaine rolled her eyes and folded her arms crossly.

Score's eyebrows knit together in confusion. "Well, what do you want me to do?"

Helaine scowled.

Jenna bit back a giggle.

Score sighed. "Okay, I'm sorry."

Helaine arched an eyebrow pointedly. "For what?"

Score paused. "Hell if I know?"

Pixel cleared his throat.

"Um, I mean…I'm sorry…about the mistletoe," Score amended, shooting a sharp look in Pixel's direction.

Helaine, though, didn't seem to realize Score's blatant straw grasping, and she visibly relaxed her stance. "Thank you," she said, with the ghost of a smile on her face.

"Uh, you're welcome," Score said incredulously. Jenna turned her face to hide her laughter.

Helaine had crossed her arms again, though she looked much less foreboding, and much more amused. Score, however, looked deeply unsettled as to what exactly the particular situation called for.

"Okay," Score burst at last. "Should I kiss you again or something?"

"Well, we are still standing under your weed, are we not?"

Score said nothing. He blinked slowly, staring at Helaine in confusion.

Jenna, though she hadn't known him for as long as Pixel, could see the unsaid sentence on Score's lips; "_I don't understand this at all_."

She never did understand what exactly changed Helaine's mind about the parasite that was Score's mistletoe, nor did she understand why it was tradition for the beings of Earth to kiss under it in the first place. She did, however, somewhat understand Score's reasoning in changing every plant and herb he came across thereafter into mistletoe.

-o-

A U T H O R S N O T E

Yay Christmas! : D

You guys should read 'Mistletoe' by Meiteora! It's really cool! And it sorta inspired this!

http : / / www . fanfiction . net / s / 1123610 / 1 / Mistletoe

: D

Pluggin' along…

~Ayaia


	14. Of Score's NotQuite Inebriation

**Title**: Of Score's Not-Quite Inebriation  
**Author**: Ayaia of the Moon  
**Pairing**: Score/Helaine  
**Fandom**: Diadem: Worlds of Magic  
**Theme**: #5: "ano sa" ("hey, you know...")  
**Rating**: K+  
**Disclaimer**: I own Diadem! Really! Am I lying? Yes! But I wish I weren't…

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Of Score's Not-Quite Inebriation

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

They'd talk sometimes, instead of mindlessly snog, like they were certain Jenna and Pixel did. (Not to say that they _didn't_ mindlessly snog sometimes, though)

Score would always tire first. Helaine would sit on the floor of his room, trailing her fingers through his hair as his head lay in her lap, and he'd babble incoherently about almost anything. He once tried to explain the plotline of a story concerning a man who'd been bitten by a spider and gained superpowers, but the combination of Helaine's poor understanding and Score's own tired, slurred speech made for a very muddled story.

Once, the conversation turned to his childhood. He talked calmly of his mother's death, and the years that followed.

"Firs' time 'e hit me I was bowled over. He'd never hit me. Hit _her_. Made me mad. But 'e hit me. An' nearly broke my nose. Jerk didn' even care."

He didn't speak, and Helaine almost thought he'd fallen asleep. She started when he kept speaking.

"Followed lotsa rules. Weren't really rules, but…they were, ya know?"

"No," Helaine answered honestly.

"Like…whenever I'd run…I couldn't go t'Central Park. Tha's where they looked fer me."

Helaine traced circles on his forehead, feeling fatigued. These strange talks of theirs always were so interesting…she wondered what made him so honest. Had his weariness made for a sort of delirium, or inebriation?

"Couldn' go alotta places, after awhile. Went to the East River once…wanted t'jus' jump in. Sink. Wouldda been easy."

Helaine paused in her circle-tracing. He'd…he'd wanted to kill himself?

"Didn', tho, did I?" He grinned, looking up at her, smiling tiredly.

"No," Helaine whispered, leaning down, kissing him awkwardly on the lips – it was odd to kiss upside-down.

"Hey…y'know…everything turned out pretty good, though."

"I agree."

"Even though m'dad was kinduva lunatic."

"If it weren't for that, do you think you would have wanted to come here?"

"Dunno if Oracle wouldda left me alone."

Helaine had to smile at that. It was true. In her own situation, even with her father's antics, she wouldn't have been able to _not_ go to Treen. It had been Oracle's meddling in the first place that had made escape necessary.

"We're all sortsa screwed up, aren't we, Helaine?"

Helaine sighed, pushing her long hair off her face and stretching her back. "Yes," she answered at length, prodding at his chest, wordlessly asking him to move his head from its position in her lap.

"Aww, yer bailin' on me," Score muttered, scooting his head ungracefully sideways, out of Helaine's lap and onto the floor with a _thunk_.

"We must rest," Helaine said quietly, getting to her feet slowly, stretching out her cramped legs. Her right foot had fallen asleep.

"We were restin' _fine_," Score argued, but his next retort was punctured with a loud yawn.

"We shall continue our discussion later, agreed?" Helaine pulled a face, massaging her foot, willing feeling to come back into it.

"Sure thing," Score said amiably, settling his head into the crook of his elbow as he rolled over, demonstrating his intent to go to sleep right there.

"It would be astonishingly more comfortable to rest in your bed," Helaine couldn't help pointing out, nudging him lightly with her toe.

"It's astonishing how you keep interrupting my well-deserved sleep," Score returned, groaning and getting to his feet nonetheless to retire in the comfort of his pillows.

"Why do you think we continue this strange exchange?" Helaine queried, leaning on the doorframe, honestly curious. "It has no point."

"Sure it does." Score smiled crookedly. "Who wouldn' kill t'have a beautiful chick like you innis room all hoursa th'night?"

Helaine flushed a little in spite of herself. Even in this half-dead state, he was still cracking jokes and flattering her shamelessly. "You have the audacity of a court jester."

"Thanks…I think…" Score muttered, planting a quick kiss on her lips, only to about-face abruptly, falling with a sigh into his sheets.

"I liked you better when I was kissing you upside-down," Helaine stated, extinguishing the torch smartly, and flouncing toward the exit, to sleep in her own room.

"I love you too," Score murmured, already sinking into slumber.

Helaine never did quite understand him sometimes…but the next evening found her once again in his room, continuing their discussion. She'd never said she wasn't willing to learn, even if the subject matter did range from Earth's strange entertainment to the exact science that was making some kind of meat sauce for noodles.

Or they'd just mindlessly snog.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

A U T H O R S N O T E

No idea, really, where this was taking me. I didn't know when exactly to stop…and the words just kept leaking out of poor NotInebriated! Score.

O.o

Trying to get back in the game…I wanna finish these themes before I do anything else…but you never know where my strange imagination will take me… (insert evil laugh here)

Alles Liebe!

~Ayaia


	15. The Importance of Being a Rose

**Title**: The Importance of Being a Rose  
**Author**: Ayaia of the Moon  
**Pairing**: Score/Helaine  
**Fandom**: Diadem: Worlds of Magic  
**Theme**: #7: superstar  
**Rating**: K+  
**Disclaimer**: I own Diadem! Really! Am I lying? Yes! But I wish I weren't…

-o-

Among the beautiful flowers that were the Daughters of Ordin, Helaine had always been the Dandelion. Yvette was the beauty, with her long, gorgeous hair, Adelaide was the storyteller, with her delightful pattern of speech, sometimes telling truths, sometimes fabrications; Even Shoshanna, who was younger than Helaine by four years was gifted with making music – and Helaine was the shame of the House of Ordin – the one who'd learned swordplay because she couldn't do anything else.

She knew she'd reached a turning point in her life when she'd been betrothed to Dathan Peverel without her consent. Considering she'd been but twelve years old at the time, she considered her decision to run away from her problems a damn good one.

Among her new friends, Score and Pixel, Helaine was still the Dandelion. She could see that they found her tomboyish and insignificant just as her family had. The annoyance she felt was overshadowed by her fierce pride that though she was still an outsider, these skinny youths had no more held a sword than she had learned to waltz, and she was a dandelion among simple cornflowers – a difference, but a preferable one.

She knew she'd reached yet another turning point in her life when she'd found herself attracted to one of her above-mentioned friends. If such an attraction were acted upon, she knew things would never be the same. Her decision to then turn around and kiss him, even with that knowledge turned out to be not as disastrous as she'd feared.

This new development made all the difference. She felt a fierce pride, now, in the fact that Score had chosen to be with her as opposed to anyone else. He enjoyed her company, most of the time, and they were happy. It was with this pride that she'd been able to gain the confidence she needed. She'd returned home. And she'd introduced her good friends to her father without reservation. Because he'd always made her feel like a dandelion, but her good cornflower friends…had made her feel like a rose.

-o-

A U T H O R S N O T E

:) This has been on the backburner for a while, and I'm actually quite glad to have finished it. Kinda short, but I'm pleased. :)

Review!

~Ayaia


	16. Fear of the Dark

**Title**: Fear of the Dark  
**Author**: Ayaia of the Moon  
**Pairing**: Score/Helaine  
**Fandom**: Diadem: Worlds of Magic  
**Theme**: # 6: The space between dream and reality  
**Disclaimer**: I own Diadem! Really! Am I lying? Yes! But I wish I weren't…  
**Rating**: T

-o-

He was uneasy, at best. His room was fine enough – sparsely furnished with a vague clean smell; it was about what he'd had in the Bowery, except the Bowrey hadn't had the clean smell. It was the lack of light he found he didn't care for.

He tried to ignore the way his heart started pounding harder the longer he laid there in the dark. This was ridiculous. He didn't have to be all paranoid _here_. He was on another _world_, fer cryin' out loud! Sure, this whole situation was weirder than a three-dollar bill. Well, and he didn't know anything about _anyone_ here.

He rolled over fiercely, grunting in annoyance. This was so stupid. He didn't want to think about that. He would be fine. Always had been. It was just because it was so damn dark. But did this Aranak guy believe in a nightlight? Of course not.

He'd never had a nightlight in the Bowery. He hadn't needed one. Bad Tony or Brio or someone always left the tube going – he just had to leave his door open.

He hadn't known he had an aversion to darkness. Not until it was thrust upon him. It had been at night. Dark as hell. Something had happened to piss Bad Tony off. Real bad. He could hear him throwing things in the next room.

He'd laid there, in the dark, the anxiety mounting...terrified that he was next. Scared to death of the imminent beating.

When Bad Tony finally lurked in the doorway, any intimidation factor he held was useless. Matthew Caruso had already scared the shit out of himself. All Tony had to do was stand there.

After the incident, Score would never allow anyone to stand in his doorway for more than a few seconds before he addressed them. Except Bad Tony. When Bad Tony stood in his doorway, silhouetted in the eerie blue light from the television behind him, blocking out the little light cast into the room at all, it was that night all over again.

Bad Tony never did understand how on earth his son would work himself to such terror. Just took advantage of it.

Funny thing was that beating had never happened. By the time Bad Tony had gotten around to passing his bad mood to Score, he'd already consumed so much alcohol that he couldn't see straight, let alone administer a proper beating.

He heard something. He tried to ignore it. It disconcerted him, though, that he couldn't tell anymore if the sounds he heard were real or imagined.

There was the lightest fluttering of taps on his door frame, and he sat bolt upright in a heartbeat. His stomach flopped, kissing his throat, as he heard a sharp intake of breath, and he focused his entire attention on the very real person who stood in his doorway.

"I…I thought you were still up. I could hear you…you know…moving around."

"What do you want?"

The question came out a bit more snappily than Score would have liked; it wasn't Renald, anyway. It was the other kid: Pixel; the one _without_ the stick up his ass.

"I just wanted to…you know…see if you were okay. I have…um…weird dreams, as of late, so…I just wanted to make sure you didn't need anything."

"Um, I'm good. Thanks. I'll…uh…see you in the morning."

"'Course. G'night."

"Night."

After his shadowy companion had left, Score felt his heart start to beat a more regular rhythm into his chest. He found himself more able to relax, and was grateful for it; he was exhausted.

He made it a personal goal to be able to fix this problem of his.

Perhaps he'd invest in a nightlight.

-o-

A U T H O R S N O T E

This came out of me fairly quickly. I got the idea in my head, and I couldn't rest until I'd gotten it all out. No romance here, though the kiss is there – find it! Our poor Score doesn't even know who Helaine _is_ yet! He still thinks she's Renald!

I don't know why I enjoy torturing the poor boy. I keep giving him reasons to be emotionally damaged. Maybe because I'm confident that Helaine can fix him. :P

Well, keep on keepin' on…

~Ayaia


	17. Diadem and the Olympians

**Title**: Diadem and the Olympians  
**Author**: Ayaia of the Moon  
**Pairing**: Score/Helaine  
**Fandom**: Diadem: Worlds of Magic  
**Theme**: #3: jolt!  
**Disclaimer**: I own Diadem! Really! Am I lying? Yes! But I wish I weren't…

-o-

Helaine was in bad temper, Score observed wryly, holding back a laugh as she took a defensive stance against the automated drinking fountain – the one that squirted water at whoever walked close enough to the sensor. She reached toward her left leg, where the dagger she'd insisted on bringing was strapped under her jeans. He gently took the hand in his own, walking away from the drinking fountain amidst her sputters of protest.

"It's fine, Helaine," he murmured into her ear, grinning as she pouted, not answering. He planted a quick peck on her cheek, and when she turned toward him in fury, he planted another kiss on her lips. At least he knew how to abate her anger. When he pulled away, she was blushing, and she was no longer trying to pull her hand out of his.

She never seemed to enjoy these excursions to Earth as much as he did, though he had to admit that a large part of his enjoyment was at Helaine's expense. When he said so, though, she hit him, so he kept his thoughts to himself for the most part.

As long as Score vowed to let Helaine choose the mode of transportation and the activities, and as long as Score picked good food to eat, Helaine deemed Earth an appropriate place for one of their dates. They'd only had a few so far, though, and strange things always seemed to interrupt them, and Helaine was thusly none to pleased to repeat the attempt.

Score tried to tell her that these things were coincidences – that normally, Earth was a normal, fun place—but she would only insist otherwise and point out the many strange things that had occurred; his near-death experience with Destiny the first time she'd come with him to Earth, as well as the near-death experience they'd had dealing with Pixel and Nantor, not to mention the strange creature they'd come across in the Queens Tunnel about an hour ago.

The police had a handle on it now, but it had made Helaine extra-jumpy, and Score had to keep a closer eye on her than normal; at this rate, she'd chop someone in half for saying, "Hello," if he let her.

He'd dragged her over the better part of Manhattan today, sure to hit up nice, touristy places so that she could see the fun side of this world. They had just circled around the Reservoir, heading back toward Central Park when Helaine stopped, narrowing her eyes.

Score felt her hand stiffen in his, and she caught his gaze. "Trouble," she muttered, looking in the direction of the East River.

He tried to think of a discreet spell he could use that wouldn't attract too much attention, but before he'd so much as conjured a force-field, he was plowed to the ground, courtesy of a boy in a bright orange tee-shirt, who was clutching a sword with a golden blade.

Score gasped, not surprised when Helaine pounced, tackling the stranger to the ground, knife point to his throat as he gaped at her. His sword was gone, and Score put a hand around his wrist, having been certain it would be injured – the blade had sliced clean through his arm, he was certain – but it was just his imagination, it seemed, because he was fine.

"Who are you, and why did you attack us?" Helaine demanded, pressing her knife into the boy's throat.

He swallowed nervously, eyeing the knife. "Woah," he managed. "Annabeth, I could definitely use a little help."

"Who are you speaking to?" Helaine asked firmly, shooting a look at Score, who whirled around, trying to see if he had a friend concealed nearby. He didn't see anyone, and his hand went to his pocket, ready to double-check with his Jasper – when he saw Helaine's face register a warning out of the corner of his eye – he turned to assist her, and was suddenly decked in the jaw by some invisible force; he landed in an awkward sprawl on the ground, hearing Helaine give a yelp of surprise.

Score looked up, ignoring the smart pain in his face – this was nothing; he'd had worse – eyes widening as he took in the scene before him: the boy's golden sword was back, though he held it with a certain laxness to the side, watching the battle – Score wondered what it was exactly that Helaine was fighting; her dagger made telling clanging sounds, and her face looked fiercely happy. These were sure signs that someone was fighting her, but Score saw no one.

He concentrated on his Jasper, willing himself to see what was happening, and he only caught a glimpse – the magic was so weak here – he saw the shadow of a girl, fighting Helaine's knife with her own, wearing a blue Yankees cap.

Score glanced at the boy beside him furtively, trying to size him up while he was distracted. He couldn't be older than Score himself, with intense, sea-green eyes, and black hair. He looked like he'd be at home in flip-flops and swimming trunks.

He turned at that moment, raising his sword menacingly at Score. "Annabeth, we don't have time for this. Wrap it up," he called, eyes drifting to where Helaine was still fighting her invisible foe.

Score grinned. If he thought his little invisible friend could 'wrap up' Helaine so quickly, he obviously didn't know who he was dealing with. Helaine lived for this stuff – it was plain to see she was loving every moment – and the invisible girl was smart enough to see it, too; she removed the hat, becoming instantly visible.

"And I thought the patrons of your planet didn't wield my kind of weapons, Score," Helaine called, still grinning as she caught sight of her opponent's wicked blade – only an inch or so longer than her own.

"Why did you attack Percy?" the girl challenged. She wore an orange shirt identical to the boy, and her curly blonde hair was pulled away from her face.

Score glanced at the boy beside him, who still held his arms outstretched, the golden metal flashing in the sun.

"He's the one who started it," Score muttered. He wondered how strong a fireball would be, and how quickly he could conjure it. He started chanting the words in his head, grinning when he felt the heat building in his palm.

Helaine shot a glance at him, nodding curtly, and he attacked, throwing the fire quickly toward the boy, Percy, as he jumped back – Score used the opportunity of his distraction to form another fireball, launching it at the girl, who looked more surprised than scared.

The water fountain beside them erupted. A small tidal wave launched itself at Score, and he fumbled in his pocket for his Chrysolite, dissolving the formidable wall of water into mist. He panted from the effort, and he was still soaked, but grateful he'd been able to stop the water before it hit him. He noticed that Helaine looked winded, too, and deduced that she must have lent him some magic.

"That…that's impossible…" the boy stammered. He motioned with his hands, and the water-vapor surged to life, attacking Score like so many annoying grains of sand. He concentrated harder on his Chrysolite, feeling Helaine's power helping him, and it evaporated completely.

"Gods," the girl breathed. "What kind of mortals _are_ you?"

Score jumped in surprise as the boy was suddenly in his face, snapping his fingers. "You don't remember any of this. You had no battle."

Helaine looked on in confusion, and Score blinked. Then he laughed. "Seriously? The Jedi mind trick? You can't honestly think that works?"

"They're immune to the mist?" The boy exchanged bewildered looks with the girl, and she shrugged.

Score was completely confused, and looking at Helaine, it was clear that she was in the same boat. Before he could address the bizarreness of their situation, however, the boy glanced toward the Queens Tunnel, across the street, motioning toward it with his head.

The two took off, and the boy shouted a warning over his shoulder. "Don't follow us, and forget you saw anything if you know what's good for you!" They turned toward Thirty-First Street, disappearing behind a line of cabs.

Score opened his mouth to say something to Helaine, who was speechlessly gesturing toward the retreating pair, when he was bowled over from behind. The culprit was a skinny redheaded boy with a scruffy beard, a black knit cap on his head, an orange shirt, and a coke can in hand, which had a large chunk bitten out of it.

"Perrrrrcy! Wait up! I hate griffins!" The boy shoved the can whole into his mouth, chewing the tin ferociously as he disappeared around the corner, following the two who'd just went in the same direction.

"Score…did that young man…have the feet of a donkey?"

Score tried to recall, and honestly wouldn't have been surprised to find it was true.

"You know what, Helaine? Earth has become a weird place in my absence. Let's get some chocolate to go and just call up Shanara."

Helaine grinned. "And Gummi-worms?"

Score groaned. "You and your gummi-worms…"

So they crossed the street cautiously, watching out for more strange orange clad people chasing a mythological monster. What idiots. They even thought the Jedi mind trick worked.

A clap of thunder pealed ominously, and Score shuddered. The faster they were back on Dondar the better. And here he'd thought Earth was the normal place…

Meanwhile, three campers of Camp Half-Blood wondered about these strange mortals with supernatural powers, and decided to shelve the problem for another day.

-o-

A U T H O R S N O T E

….I do not own Percy Jackson either, or the other characters from the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.

Like 'The Perils of Personal Ads' I thought that this was simply a cross-over that needed to happen. :D

I haven't abandoned these. I just haven't been inspired.

Thanks to Jertude 1981 for the kick! :D I'll finish this story if it kills me! :D


	18. Nightmares

**Title**: Nightmares 1  
**Author**: Ayaia of the Moon  
**Pairing**: Score/Helaine  
**Fandom**: Diadem: Worlds of Magic  
**Theme**: #26. If only I could make you mine  
**Disclaimer**: I own Diadem! Really! Am I lying? Yes! But I wish I weren't…

-o-

Helaine had never been scared for herself like she was now. She'd come to accept that she was a magic-user. She'd even come to accept that she was one of the most powerful magic-users in the Diadem. But it was too much when her jewels made her even stronger than that.

Even here, on Ordin: an Outer Rim world of the Diadem, she was feeling the effects of her jewels bonding strangely with her. She supposed it had something to do with jewels she possessed; in particular, her agate – it was by far the most problematic.

It used to be that she could concentrate through her agate to communicate with someone's mind. Now, she could do it almost without thought: as long as the jewels were on her person, she could expect, lately, to pick up on and communicate in turn with the mind of another without consciously being aware of it; especially if she knew them and their thought-patterns well enough already. Especially her three friends: those with whom she shared most of her time and space.

She'd had the fleeting thought, at first, to ask Flame about it; Unicorns surely had come to have this sort of problem before? But she hadn't' yet dared, deciding instead to try to solve the problem herself first.

And then it was so tempting to just let her mind pick things up. Before she realized how chaotic and crazy her mind started to turn from the confusion.

Score was enigmatic. Helaine had quickly realized that not everything he thought was as it seemed. He was so immersed in jokes and random information, that it took a while for her to realize it was just the surface nonsense.

Deeper, he had exhausting thought circles concerning Traxis and the Triad; Shanara and Bad Tony: he was always thinking about how to better himself against what he'd seen he could become. Whether it be Bad Tony or Traxis.

The only mind more exhausting than Score's constantly-moving one was Pixel's. He always had one or two puzzles brewing under the surface; it was like he kept several separate minds, efficient enough to pitch in simultaneously. Pixel was always thinking about dull things that she didn't understand, though. He'd been working on a sort of magically-powered grid for his 'eleck-trick-city' to power their castle on Dondar for ages, now. He'd never said a word about it.

She had come to know that Pixel hardly ever presented a plan to anyone without first having puzzled about it long enough so as to work out the kinks with it. That was why it was so hard to argue with him: He'd already argued the same points with himself a thousand times over.

Jenna, oddly, was the relief in this maelstrom of thoughts that barraged Helaine's mind. She had such a concentration with things that it blocked Helaine out, unless she _intended_ to pry. She'd grown up in simplicity, memorizing the names and uses of healing plants, as well as the ailments that the people in her village came by regularly. She had loved those people; she always gathered extra herbs to soothe coughing in the fall, because a girl in her village came by a cough annually. She'd regularly made salves in advance to sooth cuts and scrapes in the summertime, when the children of her village would play too hard.

Helaine shook her head. Thinking about Jenna was making her seep into Jenna's thoughts. Though they were a comfort from anyone else's, it was still something she didn't want to presently do. Not as long as she was here on Ordin. She was supposed to be paying respects to her sister, Miriam, as she celebrated the birth of her first child.

Loathe as Helaine sometimes was of her father, or her brothers, and yes, sometimes her sisters, because they were all so hopelessly silly, she _did_ love them, and she had never missed the celebrations of her many nieces and nephews. For such a long time, no one had borne children. They'd lived in times of war, and it was not safe to be with child. It made you a target.

She couldn't explain this to anyone else. Her companions had no siblings. Well…Pixel had a sibling. He had to have one. It was the law of his horrible Overmind. But Pixel had been too preoccupied with his parents to think of the brother or sister he was estranged from.

Score sat beside her, resplendent in the robes of royalty, and hating every minute of it. He'd come because they were due to check in anyway, and because her father had actually extended the invitation. They'd come to check in a week ago, and Lord Votrin himself came to speak to Score, asking if he and his companions wouldn't attend the celebration of the birth of his twenty-fifth grandchild.

This had introduced a whole new round of thoughts in Score's mind that Helaine had been partially privy to. How he'd never thought of Lord Votrin as a doting grandfather. How the thought of having children himself was probably out of the question. How would he know his child would be a magic-user? If it was, would it be strong enough to survive on Dondar? Would they have to move? Was there a way to tell? Should he ask Shanara? She'd had to have known. Eremin and Nantor had seemingly picked women at random with whom to imbue with their own spirits; Traxis had sought out Shanara. Was that strange? Or, how he put it, _weird and twisted_?

Helaine had had to concentrate hard to keep from reading Score's mind about the matter. It was still something he thought about; didn't want to ask Shanara about yet, because everything with her was still so fresh…he didn't want to bring it up, though he was aching with curiosity.

_*Helaine? Helaine? When are we gonna leave?*_

Helaine had been so focused on blocking out Score's thoughts that she jumped when Score _wanted_ to communicate with hers. Without effort, she sifted out the excess thoughts of her own, making sure they were speaking only to each other, that no one else could hear, and that he couldn't tell what her own thoughts were buzzing about.

_*We'll leave as soon as the formalities are complete* _she managed; proud of herself for not letting his thoughts distract her.

_*Good. I'm hungry.*_

Helaine turned to him, rolling her eyes, and earning a grin from him in return. She didn't know how much longer she could do this.

It was fatiguing, and she was beginning to show the signs of wear; her reflexes were shoddy, and she was developing circles under her eyes from not being able to properly rest at night, afraid she'd tap into someone's dreams. Or their nightmares. Even Score had started complaining that she'd been meaner than usual. Pixel just looked at her, ever puzzling things together in his mind.

It was starting to get harder to discern the reality from the thoughts. She couldn't remember conversations she'd had with her friends versus the conversations she'd imagined. The kisses she'd _actually_ shared with Score…versus the ones she hadn't. But that he'd dreamt about. Or she'd dreamt about. Or thought about.

_*You okay? Helaine?*_

"I don't know."

-o-

E

I haven't been mean enough to Helaine. I always pick on Score. So here! Yay for Helaine!cruelty! *This has been brought to you by the _Stop Fanfic Authors from Abusing their Charges_ Foundation.

~Ayaia


	19. Prelude to Calamity: Part Three

Title: Prelude to Calamity: Part Three

Author: Ayaia of the Moon

Pairing: Score/Helaine

Fandom: Diadem: Worlds of Magic

Theme: #16: invincible; unrivaled

Disclaimer: I own Diadem! Really! Am I lying? Yes! But I wish I weren't…

***Strong R/M warning! Contains scary stuff! You have been warned!*** (if this chapter were a movie, it would be rated 'R' for language)

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Prelude to Calamity: Part Three

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The fifth time she found the herbs bundled under her pillow, she growled in frustration before gathering the bunch and marching into Jenna's chambers, scowling. "What is the meaning of this!" she cried, brandishing the bundle and trying to suppress a sneeze when a pinch of feverfew dislodged itself from its herb bretheren and floated up her nose.

She'd surprised Jenna in the middle of weaving her hair for bed, and the other girl reddened, dipping her head to avoid Helaine's gaze. "I didn't think it would hurt anything," she murmured softly.

Helaine's scowl slackened a little. Not much. "What are they for?" she asked, less demandingly, holding the bundle in her palm out to Jenna, who picked it up gingerly.

"Feverfew," she said, smiling uncertainly, "is for protection. Hyssop wards evil spirits away." She pulled at the bundle revealing small flowers, a large leaf, and a lily petal. "The blue stars are courage. The bay leaf is strength. And the lily scares away intruders."

Helaine opened her mouth, ready to say something caustic, but then she noticed that Jenna was crying.

"I could have helped you better," she said softly, putting the bundle down and deftly wiping the back of her hands under her eyes. "I should have brought better herbs with me. Boosted my power somehow. Tried to fix it better."

Helaine was stunned, frankly. She'd never heard this self-deprecating tone from Jenna before. Jenna, even in their early days, when they couldn't stand one another, always defended herself. She had enough pride in what she did that she carried confidence enough to face _her_ down, arrogant and noble as she was. "I'm sure you were just shocked. I don't doubt you could have fixed it, but Score's healers did a fine job."

"Doctors," Jenna corrected, a smile emerging from her sniffles.

Helaine managed a smile in return – one more genuine than she'd given anyone in a long time.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

_"Sorry."_

_Helaine looked surprised for a moment. Then she just shrugged. _

_It was a movement she'd never really practiced before the time she'd spent on Earth, or just around him in general, but Score didn't point it out. He'd bumped into her, literally, on his way into the library._

_She wasn't wearing the gauntlets. Score's stare leveled to the scar without even thinking, and Helaine scowled._

_"What?" she said haughtily. She crossed her arms and continued past him, not saying another word._

_Score was flummoxed. He didn't do flummoxed. But he was. He stepped into the library, then, having said nothing, and pounded both of his fists into the stone wall._

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The hospital smelled strange. Score knew that it was the hospital, not something wrong with him or his nasal faculties. Helaine's hospital care had been in a newer, cleaner facility that didn't smell half as bad as this place. Experiencing their care first hand, though, brought many…not really happy memories from Score's childhood.

He opened his eyes blearily, groaning a little as he clenched his stomach muscles, trying to sit up. He was pushed gently back to his cardboard pillows, and focused his gaze tiredly, shocked to see Helaine, rather than Jenna, who he'd expected.

"What happened?" he managed. His voice was thick and raspy with the depth of his sleep. He cleared his throat.

Helaine bit her lip, keeping her hand on his shoulder a fraction of a second longer, just to ensure he wouldn't try to sit up again. He was skinny. She _knew_ that, of course, but his shoulder _felt_ skinny.

_For all the frailty and weakness he'd appeared to have, the old man had been surprisingly spry when he'd decided to make his move._

She blanched at the comparison, hoping he hadn't noticed. "Just go to sleep," she muttered.

"What happened?" Score tried again, his voice stronger.

Helaine left.

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_Borigen hustled Helaine into his chamber, ignoring the scream in his head that it was highly irregular. Helaine just smiled. _

_"See, Borigen! They thought I was a boy! So I can learn sword fighting now, right?"_

_Borigen hesitated, smiling kindly. Her "disguise" wasn't really all that good. She'd probably gotten lucky. Looking at her straight on, it was obvious that her tunic was too ladylike, and she'd neglected doing anything with her hair at all, and it was an unusually long style for young boys her age. _

_"I snucked down –"_

_"'Snuck,' my dear," Borigen corrected her._

_"Yes. I snucked down where the ladies were whining about father, and I took the breeches from their pile! Just like that! And I stoled the boots from Dayfd!"_

_Borigen kept his face in a careful, thoughtful expression. The breeches were several sizes too large for her skinny frame, and she'd compensated by tying a rope around her middle to hold them up, and had rolled them unevenly up her little stick legs. The boots were beautiful, but Dayfd was also fifteen summers, and Helaine was five. _

_"I'm sneaky, huh?"_

_Borigen pulled Helaine toward him, sitting her on his lap as he allowed the boots to flop to the ground. He started work on unrolling the breeches. "Why would you want to learn to fight, my lady? Hmm?" he queried softly._

_"Boys do cool stuff. They goes to duels, and boxes lads' ears, and keep the filthy commonders in line," Helaine said matter-of-factly. She took herself very seriously, and was very good at saying things matter-of-factly._

_"Is that so?" Borigen muttered, making a note to himself to have a word with Lord Votrin about the way he spoke around her._

_"Yeah-huh. I'm gooder at being a boy. Then I won't have to sit with _Shoshanna_ all day." She crossed her arms, putting on an angry pout, and Borigen smiled._

_"My lady, if you would like to be a boy, you do need to learn to fight. But most boys start practicing long before coming to me."_

_Helaine looked thoughtful. Then she nodded. "Well, you'll have to teach me how to practice," she said seriously. _

_Borigen finally let out a laugh. "You come to me at week's end. If you have been good, and returned these breeches, and at least _tried_ to sit with your new sister," he leveled her with a look, and she shut her mouth against protests. "Then I will show you a few practicing techniques."_

_Helaine beamed. _

_Borigen sighed. He now had until week's end to convince Helaine that a man's life wasn't what she wanted. She was young, though, and impressionable. She'd listen to reason. He was worrying about nothing. _

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Pixel stirred from slumber as Helaine entered Shanara's study. She dropped a bundle in his lap wordlessly, settling down on the floor beside him. He sat up, grinning. "Score's coming home today."

Helaine nodded. Her expression didn't flicker. She opened her own bundle, extracting a piece of strange fruit, setting it aside in favor of the bread, which she tore a small chunk from, lifting it to her lips to take a bite.

Pixel frowned. "I thought you'd be excited."

Helaine looked at him, swallowing her food. "I am glad he's well again. I just want things to go back to normal."

Pixel nodded in agreement. "Yeah. This whole situation sucks."

Helaine managed a small smile. "I've never understood what he means when he says that. I understand that it means a bad thing, but…"

Pixel nodded. "Me either. Maybe it's something to do with bad stuff making you breath in more?"

Helaine let out a laugh at the thought, and Pixel tried to take it in stride. She hadn't laughed in such a long time; he'd almost forgotten what it sounded like.

The world became a little more normal.

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_"I can't _believe_ this!" Score yelled angrily, resisting the urge to upend the table, just to appease his frustration. Pixel was sitting thoughtfully at the table, too, so that helped his decision. A little. _

_"I had suspected we couldn't be the only ones in this circuit," Pixel was murmuring. I _didn't_ know there were planets even Shanara didn't know about."_

_Score paced heatedly. "And then they come to us for help after they already _knew_?!"_

_"They're fifth-demensional beings," Pixel said evenly, not raising his voice an iota in contrast with Score's getting louder with every pivot he made in his pacing. "They needed to see how certain things would play out so that they wouldn't jeopardize things."_

_"And what the hell did they mean with all that vague impending doom crap, anyway? I don't care what we have to do if it means _capturing_ this bastard –"_

_"They said that they couldn't contact us before now or else the "timestream would have chosen an ending in which multiple deaths occurred." I think they're really doing the best they –"_

_"Who's to say it would be us? Maybe they were thinking of their own stupid skins? You think of that, Pix?" Score had stopped pacing and put his hands on the table across from where Pixel sat. The blue boy looked up at him, face expressionless, save for that damned gleam in his eye he always got when those puzzle-solving gears were moving at full speed in his brain._

_"It doesn't help what happened," Pixel said evenly. _

_"Well, we gotta stop this shit from happening at all," Score snarled._

_"She's fine, Score. She doesn't have pain any more. She's back to full range of movement. Just like your healers said."_

_Score hated it when Pixel just got quieter and more logical when all he really should do was go…set fire to something. Her physical health wasn't what Score was talking about, and Pixel knew it. "Doctors," he corrected shortly, standing fully and running his hands through his hair. "Let's go find everyone," he sighed. "We have some travelling to do."_

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When Score stepped through the portal into Shanara's castle, he was immediately enveloped in the woman's embrace.

Jenna stepped through the portal next, followed by Cyrus, who still refused to leave Score's side. Helaine bristled at his presence, unfolding her arms and widening her stance, as though ready to tackle someone.

Score noticed this a little worriedly over Shanara's shoulder. The scene was all too familiar, except that he was the one coming back from the dead, and Helaine was standing off to the side.

Blink's stomach growled loudly."It's all well and good to sit around hugging people, Shanara, but I'm starving! You haven't fed me since before opening the portal!" the familiar complained from the floor.

Score laughed appreciatively at Shanara chastising the creature, and Cyrus moved to stand in the corner opposite Helaine. Pixel came forward then, and Jenna patted his back from behind.

He'd managed to get into proper clothes in the hospital rather than coming to Rawn in scrubs, and he suspected that Jenna had been worried that he knew how to dress himself so deftly through the pain she still knew was there in his abdomen and stomach. He didn't have the heart to tell her it was through lots of practice, having to grit his teeth through pain and pretend things were normal when he was living under Bad Tony's roof.

"We've missed having you here," Jenna said, smiling. She didn't bring it up. Pixel had rubbed off on her, that way.

"Yeah. Not like you've been over visiting me practically every day," Score said sarcastically, nonetheless returning the grin and opening his arms to offer her a hug, which she received immediately.

"We couldn't trust those doctors. Shanara wouldn't have taken half so long as they did to heal you," Pixel intoned, offering his own smile to Score, who nodded.

"She's doing okay? Yeah?" Score said it softly, looking to the adjoining corridor Shanara had just disappeared through. He just wanted the vocal confirmation, and Jenna was only too enthusiastic to offer her answer.

"She helped with the Portal!" Jenna exclaimed. "She wasn't drained at all!"

"A lot of that was Blink," Helaine corrected, offering her voice for the first time. "She fed him before we formed it, and him being hungry again means he probably carried more than half the load of the magic needed."

"But yes. She's doing all right," Pixel intercepted, shooting a look at her.

Score offered her a half-smile. "Hey, c'mon. You're not even a little glad to see me?" He tried not to look at Pixel, who was observing their reunion clinically, reading expressions and body language, like finding out what they weren't saying was more important than what they were saying.

Helaine offered no smile in return. "Welcome back," she said stonily.

Score tried not to sigh. He'd hoped that she'd be snapped out of whatever this was. He'd hoped…well, he'd hoped for nothing, apparently.

He didn't miss the significant look Pixel shot Jenna. He could do his own share of clinical study. He brushed it aside, though, smiling like he wasn't disappointed by Helaine's frosty welcome.

"We made food!" Jenna blurted then, eager for the potential tension to dissipate. "And we have so much to tell you! Thunder wants to give you an earful of the things you missed."

Cyrus, anticipating their movement out of the room, preceded the group, leading the way through the corridor that led to Shanara's eating area.

_He's pretty fly for a blind guy_, Score thought, and he allowed Jenna to pull him away in Cyrus' wake, chattering in his ear. He looked back, though, and saw Pixel approach Helaine, who crossed her arms, eyes narrowed, creating a barrier without speaking a word.

Pixel probably didn't stand a chance against Helaine's stubbornness, but Score thought it was cool that he would try anyway.

Helaine's glare was the last thing he saw before the door to the dining area closed, separating them firmly, he on one side, and she on the other.

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_"God, kid, please shut up. I don't know." Brio hadn't slept in days, and the brat was grating on his last nerve, asking where his mother was. Bad Tony had been clear that he was going to tell his son _himself_ that his mother had died. Simple. Cut and dry. Except that Matt was nine. And he apparently didn't know when to give up. _

_"But Brio, where _is_ she?" Matt was asking now, tugging on Brio's shirt, like it was really an issue of Brio having misplaced his mother, unable to remember where she'd gone. _

_"Ask someone _else_. Someone who _isn't_ sleeping. Jesus. Someone who fucking _knows_!" Brio snarled, beating at the couch cushion, wishing it were more comfortable. Wishing this kid would buzz off. _

_"Where's Tony?" Matt tried then, in a slightly softer tone._

_"In his room," Brio murmured, hoping to deter him. He knew not to go into Bad Tony's room. "And you'd better not let him hear you calling him 'Tony' again," he growled as an afterthought. _

_"Is he sleeping? Brio? Is it okay if I wake him up? Can I ask him? Brio?"_

_"I swear to _God_, I'm going to kill you. Shut up. Ask in the morning."_

_"But…she said she'd be here."_

_"Shut UP!" Brio roared mutedly, sitting up and backhanding the boy across his face. _

_Matt's eyes went wide, and blood trickled down his face from his nose, and yet he still looked more bewildered than hurt. "Y-you _hit_ me," he stammered in disbelief. _

_"Get the hell outta my sight, or I'll give you worse than a bloody nose, you little shit," Brio grated out, punctuating the threat with a sharp shove, again surprising Matt, who stumbled backwards, landing on his ass. _

_It was effective – Brio allowed himself a small smile at the blessed quiet and leaned back into the couch cushions, closing his eyes. _

_"T-Tony? D-D-Dad? Where's….where's my mom?"_

_Brio heard it, and winced for the kid. What an idiot. Tony really wasn't in the best frame of mind right now. Neither he nor the bottle of Gin that had been his companion to nurse him through the "grief" of having lost his wife._

_A soft, muted conversation commenced behind the door. It grew louder, but still muffled, and then the door opened. _

_Brio was brought back to full wakefulness by a hard punch to his gut. "—the hell?" he gasped, eyes shooting open to see Tony, eyes bloodshot. "Boss?"_

_"You don't hit my son," he growled. "Clean him up. Now."_

_Tony deposited Matt on the emptier side of the couch, after Brio hurriedly pulled his feet up so the boy wouldn't land on him. Tony returned to the comforting embrace of his Gin bottle. Matt groaned piteously. Brio kicked at him angrily, not caring what the little pissant kid was crying about._

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Score declined having Jenna as his nurse. It was nothing personal, he told her. He appreciated what she'd already done for him. He wanted to mend alone.

She sat with him anyway.

They'd spent a night in Shanara's castle upon his return, where she'd soothed a residual fever with cool hands, and he couldn't help making parallels to his own fragmented memories of her doing the same for him when he was small.

When Jenna helped him change the bandages, she fingered an older scar in his side that looked remarkably like the newer ones. She'd had to persuade the doctors that it wasn't related to his injuries at all, but every time she saw it, Score saw how curious she got.

He met her eyes, and she apologized, pressing the new gauze gently over the cuts and incisions, taping over it.

There were some stories better left untold.

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_Matt knew things that he realized he shouldn't know. Things that scared him half to death. He knew how to hold a knife in a fight. He knew how to identify the pieces that people wore – knew how heavy the bullets were for Brio's pistol. He knew how to make the nice social worker leave. He knew how long he could go without breathing until he passed out. He started acting out in his classes, until his teachers labeled him a trouble-maker, sending him with nasty notes home to Tony. _

_He knew how much Tony hated these notes, and how much harder he punched when he was angry. Tony threatened to make it worse if he brought home another one. And each time, it was. He learned to ditch the notes. But then the teachers _called_. _

_Tony was livid. Matt – then Score – wondered if this time, he would die. Wondered if, this time, he wouldn't be able to get back up from the floor. In unconsciousness, he had weird dreams. _

_It was always Brio's job to clean Score up after Tony was done with him. Brio usually didn't. He usually knocked him around a little more and shoved him into his room. A few times, before it was too bad, and if he whined he'd still be listened to, instead of punched, Score'd even managed to convince Brio to take him to the hospital. Once, especially, when he was ten; not for lack of trying, he had been trying to get over broken ribs on aspirin and death threats to sustain him, and it wasn't working. Brio had drilled him with a story, smacking him on the head until the story was what came out of his mouth instead of the truth._

_This felt worse than broken ribs. _

_Score was surprised at the brightness that penetrated his eyeballs. Brio was there immediately, growling into his ear._

_"Stick to this story, shrimp. You got jumped by the Reds just outside the Meatpacking district. You didn't get a good look at them."_

_Score tried to sit up, and Brio pushed him roughly down. _

_"You're gonna pull your stiches, you shit. Where were you?"_

_"Reds…don't have the Meatpacking district anymore," Score muttered. "And what would I be doing there?"_

_"Hudson Square, then. Don't get smart. You're the one who got us into this mess."_

_Score tried to sit up again, and before Brio could push him back, he hissed in pain, putting his hands to his side. _Shit_._

_"Who are you?" Score grated out, listening to the story but trying to straighten the truth out in his mind. Tony had never landed him in the ER. He was more careful than that. He'd probably been drinking. Shit. It wasn't Thursday, was it?_

_"You're my cousin. I'm from out of town, and you were gonna take me home via the Tunnel. We were gonna catch a cab. You live off the Turnpike." _

_"Holland Tunnel. Cab. Turnpike," Score repeated, wincing as he looked down at his side. This was the real deal. He was scrubbed. His clothes were gone. "Shit. Brio. They scrubbed me."_

_Brio nodded. "They weren't sure how deep the cut was. Pretty shallow, though. Looked worse than it was. We'll blow this pop stand soon. Before they turn your clothes into the police or whatever."_

_"What's…gonna happen? We never got scrubbed…" Score felt his hearbeat throbbing in his ears. "Brio…I'm gonna pass out."_

_"No. Stop. I can't wait here longer while they wait for you to wake up, and I'm sure as hell not carrying you out."_

_Brio's hand was gripping his shoulder tightly, and Score winced in anticipation of a blow, but it never came. _

_When he passed out, the dreams were weird again. All about green lights and funeral marches. And when he awoke, sweating and shaking, Brio was gone. _

_He clammed up, unsure what the plan was now, and it earned him a trip to Psych. Brio had brought him to a freaking Child Study Center, and soon he had a bunch of Therapists and Social Workers labeling him, talking about making him a ward of the state. _

_Shit. So he could go into another foster home? Like he had when Tony went to jail when he was ten? And the foster parents could fool the social workers better than he could, and collect kids to clean their house and spend "special time" with Mrs. Baker, who smelled like sherry and called Score her "favorite distraction," and ask him if he wanted to go swimming, even though Score told her he didn't really know how, so she could look at him creepily without his shirt on?_

_Fuck that. Fuck that with _bells_ on._

_He healed. He finally got a look at the cut, when the nurse guy was changing the gauze – he recognized it as a stab wound. He knew what they looked like. And now he knew what they felt like._

_It left him pensive as he weighed his options. So…he didn't want to be a ward of the state. The thought scared him. He didn't want to go back to Tony. He was still healing. What he needed, really, was to just leave. Get out on his own. He _owned_ the Bowry. It sucked ass, but he knew its dangers. He could just live day to day, conning the con-men out of their money, and then…what?_

_He didn't have a mind for philosophy. He'd figure it out. Make it up on the fly._

_When he could get to his feet and walk around normally, without feeling that hitching pain in his side, or the imminent need to pass out, he bailed. Picked up a five-fingered discount at the gift shop to acquire a hoodie with the hospital's logo, stole some sneakers from the Residents' break room, and found himself in transit. He hit home first, hoping to beat the cops there. The front door was locked, so he pulled the spare key from where it was taped under the stair railing…_

_To find nobody inside. A note was taped to the TV. Where it was sure to be found. _

**_Matthew_**_. It was from his father, then. Brio called him _Score_, or _Brat_, or _Little Shit,_ or other endearing terms like them. _

**_I am taking care of a mix up downtown_**_. i.e. he'd been arrested, but would soon bribe his way out of it._

**_I should be back. Wait_**_. i.e. it was his lucky break, and he should get the hell _out_. _

_As he opened the door, though, it was to face a uniform. And he was brawny. _

_Score went without a fight. But the possibilities were practically endless, as soon as he could ditch these legal types. They'd arrested Bad Tony. They wanted to keep Score away from him. And he was fine with that. He could heal. He could make a plan for himself to do whatever he wanted. And not be scared anymore._

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End file.
